Dwight Freeney knows that an acclaimed 15-year NFL veteran who keeps himself in tip-top shape doesn’t need to spend the bulk of his spring and summer working out at team headquarters.

So he doesn’t.

Even with Pro Football Hall of Fame credentials, Freeney is aware that no team considers a 36-year-old defensive end anything more than a short-term option should its roster lack pass-rush punch. Thus, NFL training camps opened the past two years without one of the league’s all-time sack leaders on a roster.

Both seasons unfolded with Freeney standing one win away from reaching the Super Bowl.

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When he takes the field for the Falcons on Sunday against the visiting Packers, Freeney will be representing his third different franchise in five career conference title game. Freeney said the Falcons vibe reminds him of his glory days with Indianapolis in the 2000s “when everything was jelling” and the Colts reached three AFC title games.

“This is a very, very close-knit team,” Freeney told co-host Gil Brandt and me Wednesday night on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The Brotherhood is what we call it over here. It’s all about each other.

“We have confidence in what we do and how we do it … It’s been an enjoyable 15th year for me being in that type of environment.”

It’s also not where Freeney thought he’d be spending the 2016 campaign.

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Freeney expected to re-sign with the Cardinals, whom he led with eight sacks despite not signing until five weeks into the season. When that reunion didn’t happen, Freeney fielded multiple offers before agreeing to a one-year, $1 million deal with Atlanta.

Freeney produced a modest three sacks — giving him 122.5 for his career — and 10 tackles in 15 games as a situational player; however, the impact Freeney made isn’t reflected in his own stats but rather the second-year player he helped groom into a bona fide NFL Defensive Player of the Year contender. Vic Beasley’s sack total jumped from 4.5 as a rookie to a league-leading 15.5.

Freeney demurred when asked how much he influenced Beasley’s improvement but did allow “I know I’ve helped.”

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“I kind of raise his football IQ,” said Freeney, who has perfected the spin move like no other defender. “He doesn’t have the experience so I try to catch him up as far as things that you have to look out for protection-wise and formation-wise.

“When I was his age (24), I was a fast, agile guy who had strength. I remind him when to trigger certain moves. ‘You’re doing it too early. Do it a little bit later,’ things of that nature because of the fact I was him. I was that body type so I can best explain to him better than someone else.”

Freeney, Beasley and the rest of a defense that generated 34 regular-season sacks — Atlanta’s highest total since 2008 — now face their toughest challenge to date in quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s flourishing aerial attack.

Freeney is familiar with Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari from having faced him in the playoffs for a second straight season. Freeney complemented Bakhtiari, calling him a “top-tier type tackle” and “no pushover.”

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But when asked if the Packers field the NFL’s top pass-blocking line as widely touted, Freeney wouldn’t go overboard with praise.

“They definitely have a good line. I don’t know if I would say they’re the best pass-blocking offensive line,” Freeney said. “I think we have one pretty good one here in the Falcons. But I feel like (the Packers) do a good job complementing Aaron Rodgers in what he does.

“Aaron holds onto the ball sometimes for a long, long time. He does a tremendous job of moving in the pocket, finding ways to squeak out and make throws. Partially that is a credit to that offensive line being able to hold up that long. And partially it’s because of Aaron’s awareness and being able to be unpredictable making those types of moves and throws.”

Atlanta has its own firepower with the NFL’s top-scoring offense led by quarterback Matt Ryan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who is in line to become the 49ers' next head coach. Freeney said that unit’s prowess has given the defense a psychological edge.

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“Whenever you can feel like, ‘No matter what happens here, our offense has our back,’ it’s just amazing,” said Freeney, who enjoyed that same luxury in Indianapolis when Peyton Manning was quarterbacking. “You can go out there playing confident and loose knowing that we have a great offense.

“Matt moves that ball around and gets everybody involved. Obviously, that has a lot to do with Shanahan and what his scheme is. It’s like people keep coming off the sideline. It seems like we have 15 tight ends and three running backs and 15 receivers.”

Freeney’s conference title game debut came during his second NFL season with the 2003 Colts and ended with a loss at New England. How special that opportunity was didn’t dawn on a 23-year-old Freeney (“I didn’t know anything,” he admits).

His second appearance came with the 2006 Colts squad that beat the Patriots in a classic en route to winning Super Bowl 41 over the Bears.

“I felt like, ‘Hey I’m going to make it every single year after this,’” Freeney said with a chuckle.

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“That didn’t happen.”

Nor did another Super Bowl ring.

The 2009 Colts made it to Super Bowl 44 before losing to the Saints with Freeney becoming a non-factor because of an ankle injury. The 2015 Cardinals also fell short when routed by the Panthers.

“This experience has been different from a perspective of being able to appreciate it a lot more knowing it doesn’t happen often,” he said.

Whether it happens again for Freeney next year may very well remain another offseason mystery. Freeney said he will take “about a month or two just to kind of figure it all out” and not make a decision about retirement based on emotion coming off a season’s end.

“You’re either upset that you didn’t win or you’re happy you won,” Freeney said. “I really want to give it some time, just make the right decision for me and my family and go from there.”

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Freeney does admit the thought of becoming a late addition to a team next season once again has its appeal.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Freeney said. “Let me retire right after this season and wait for another contender, right?”

Freeney, though would be hard-pressed to find another situation better than the one he experienced in Atlanta.

“It’s an amazing deal,” he said.

Alex Marvez can be heard from 8 to 11 p.m. ET Thursday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.