For the first time in a decade, NFL players are heading for training camps, and Captain Munnerlyn doesn’t have a reporting date.

The Carolina Panthers released the cornerback on Feb. 25 with two seasons remaining on a four-year, $17 million contract after Munnerlyn played 63 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in 2018, primarily at nickelback.

At 31 years old, Munnerlyn said he hasn't reached the end of his NFL career.

"I want to play," Munnerlyn said. "I still love the game. When I don't love the game, that's when I'm going to retire. I'm definitely going to be on a team this year.

"I've got a lot of football left in me. I'm still young. I feel good. I've been training since February. I feel like I got my speed back. That's one thing I've been working on -- getting my speed back, and I feel like I got it back. I actually feel very good -- like really, really, really, really good."

A former football and track standout at Murphy High School in Mobile, Munnerlyn is among the veteran NFL players from Alabama high schools and colleges who remain unsigned after participating during the 2018 season.

The list includes linebacker Josh Bynes (Auburn), offensive tackle Blaine Clausell (Baker), wide receiver Sammie Coates (Leroy, Auburn), running back Corey Grant (Opelika, Auburn), cornerback Joshua Holsey (Auburn), defensive end Michael Johnson (Dallas County), offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio (Alabama), place-kicker Cody Parkey (Auburn), offensive tackle Andre Smith (Huffman, Alabama), safety Darian Stewart (Lee-Huntsville), long snapper Carson Tinker (Alabama), safety Brynden Trawick (Troy) and guard Chance Warmack (Alabama).

Munnerlyn joined Carolina as a seventh-round selection from South Carolina in the 2009 draft. He spent his first five NFL seasons with the Panthers before departing in free agency to the Minnesota Vikings for a three-year, $12.25 million contract. He returned to Carolina in free agency in 2017.

During his NFL career, Munnerlyn has played in 154 games, missing six over his 10 seasons. He has intercepted 12 passes, broken up 64, caused five fumbles, recovered nine fumbles (including one returned for a touchdown), registered 10 sacks and recorded 522 tackles. He holds the Panthers' team record with five touchdowns on interception returns.

"I never imagined it," Munnerlyn said of his decade in the NFL. "When I first got to the league, my goal was to make the team. I made the team. My second goal was: I want a big contract. I got that. The third thing for me was: I want to win a Super Bowl. And I'm still chasing."

The Denver Broncos already have their full contingent in training camp, and the Atlanta Falcons' veterans report on Sunday. By Friday, all 32 NFL teams will be in training camp.

Munnerlyn isn't deterred by what will be a late start if he gets the NFL offer that he's counting on.

"I know me," Munnerlyn said. "I've got that confidence. I've got that drive. Any situation I'm put in, I can come out of it. Anywhere I go -- don't get me wrong, I've got to work -- but I can do it."

Several of the unsigned state players are coming off injuries.

Bynes started at inside linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals before a thumb injury in the 11th game ended his 2018 season. Grant had a foot injury last season that limited him to five games. Because of a foot injury, Holsey didn't play in a game until Dec. 16, and he suffered a torn ACL in that contest. Tinker missed the 2017 season with a torn ACL, and another knee injury ended his 2018 season after five games.

Like Munnerlyn, Johnson and Smith are 10-year veterans, and they've spent most of their careers as teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals. Stewart is a nine-year veteran who went to the Pro Bowl in 2016 with the Broncos.

A six-year veteran, Trawick was the AFC special-teamer at the Pro Bowl in 2017 and got on the field for 342 special-teams plays in 2018 with the Tennessee Titans.

Warmack is a former first-round draft choice and starter for the Tennessee Titans who worked as a reserve for the Philadelphia Eagles the previous two seasons.

After signing a four-year, $15 million contract in free agency with Chicago last offseason, Parkey lost the Bears’ kicking job after the “Double Doink” field-goal attempt in the playoffs against the Eagles.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.