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San Francisco 49ers guard Larry Allen is expected to retire, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting.

There is little doubt that Allen, who spent most of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013, the first year he's eligible. Allen has been named to 11 Pro Bowl teams, and there was a stretch of about five years in which he was the best guard in the league. In 2002 Jay Glazer called him the best player in the NFL at any position.

One of the strongest players in football (he's said to bench press 700 pounds), Allen was the Cowboys' second-round pick out of tiny Sonoma State in 1994, and he entered the starting lineup during his rookie year and never left.

Other players who could make the 2013 Hall of Fame class include Buccaneers and Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp and Allen's 49ers teammate Bryant Young.