Stevens, Cochran, Roberts, and Dole could retire. I doubt any of them will, and they are all in fairly safe seats.
I agree, although Dole's seat is not safe if she retires. One of Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and Treasurer Rich Moore would duck out of the race for Governor to run for Senate, and either would be a strong candidate. (I think Gov. Mike Easley ruled out a Senate run, though an open seat
might tempt him.)
Conversely, Stevens's seat is only safe if he retires. At least, it's hard to see a Democrat winning without running against a scandal-ridden incumbent like Stevens.
