WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. -- Rashean Mathis may still have a few years left as a defensive back for the Detroit Lions, but he has already figured out what he's planning on doing when he's done playing football.

He's going to make a run at turning into a professional golfer.

Rashean Mathis says he is a 4-handicap right now and has his eyes on pro golf after his football career ends. Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini

"I definitely want to," Mathis said before the Charlie Sanders Have A Heart Save A Life golf tournament Monday. "I never had a coach so for me to take it serious and to not take too much time away from the family for a year to see where I could be, I would love to do that."

Mathis, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, during the NFL offseason, said Monday he is a 4-handicap right now -- and knows that for him to have a legitimate shot he would have to be a better-than-scratch golfer.

The 34-year-old aggressively plays golf when the NFL season is not in session, but stops playing once the season starts, part of the reason he believes he could make a run at pro golf once he could focus on it full-time.

Right now, he's averaging about 290 yards off the tee and his long-term goal is the PGA Senior Tour, but he'll have 15-plus years before he's eligible for that tour. He turns 35 in August.

"I'm looking at another tour before that," Mathis said. "I don't know what tour that would be, but I definitely want to play golf somewhere."

Mathis isn't quite ready to trade in football cleats for golf spikes yet. He signed a two-year deal with Detroit this offseason and said Monday he recently changed his mindset as to whether or not 2016 would be his final NFL season.

He initially thought it would be, but now he's contemplating seeing how things progress -- including a move to safety later in his career if it means still playing. Mathis had 51 tackles and an interception for the Lions last season.