Tony Gonzalez has been leaning toward retirement at the end of this season.

But the future Hall of Fame tight end is leaving the window cracked on a return in 2013. It could depend on what happens with the playoff run of the Atlanta Falcons, who will host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome.

Gonzalez, 36, caught the final pass that set up Matt Bryant’s game-winning field goal this past Sunday in a victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs. He also scored a touchdown in the game and the 36-year-old was selected to the Pro Bowl for the 13th time in his career.

“After last week it went up a couple percentage points,” Gonzalez said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Maybe if we win this week it goes to 99. I don’t want to toy with that number. The only reason I’ve been at 95 percent is because I don’t want to shut that window.”

There is no reason he has to walk away and the Falcons would surely like him back. Gonzalez said he believes he could performer “another two or three years if I wanted to, and at a high level.”

We’ll see which direction this heads. Surely, NFL fans would like to see him continue his craft at a high level.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune