Gauging the retirement possibilities of three Eagles

Eagles center Jason Kelce, defensive lineman Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham are entering the twilights of their career.

The Eagles have the ninth-youngest roster in the NFL with an average age of 25.7, but they're still getting Pro Bowl-caliber play from this aging trio.

The Eagles go way back with these players. Each of them is 32 or older and was a starter for the Eagles in their victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. Also, they've been around since the Andy Reid era. They have helped the Eagles reach the playoffs in five of the past six seasons. But nothing lasts forever.

Will they retire?

Here's a look at each player's situation: 

Jason Kelce 

Kelce, 35, has been a mainstay on the Eagles offensive line. The five-time Pro Bowler hasn't missed a game since Week 7 of the 2014 season.

Kelce has been mulling retirement for some time. In fact, head coach Nick Sirianni sent Kelce a keg of beer last offseason to persuade him to stay with the Eagles for one more season, per Sports Illustrated's Wilton Jackson. 

In September, per the Philly Sports Network, he said: “If I’m being honest my body is starting to fall apart. This is my 12th year, I couldn’t even do training camp this year. I got surgery at the beginning of it.”

Kelce has a number of off-the-field endeavors in the Philadelphia area.

Of the three retirement candidates, he seems the most likely.

Fletcher Cox

At one time, Cox, 32, was a perennial Pro Bowler and considered one of the best defensive tackles in the league. Cox has 480 tackles and 64 sacks in 169 career games. He was named to the the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team, solidifying his place as one of his era's finest. 

Cox was cut by the Eagles last offseason and then re-signed with the team just a few days later on a team-friendly one-year, $14 million contract, per NFL.com. 

The Eagles also drafted Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis this year, who looks like the heir apparent to Cox. The Eagles also signed interior defensive linemen Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh to one-year contracts to beef up the Eagles' run defense. 

As Cox sees his snap count decrease in the team's defensive line rotation, it seems the Eagles have replaced him in the short and long term. 

Even though he is playing past his prime, Cox is still one of the most successful defensive lineman of of his era. But he also seems like a good candidate for retirement.

Brandon Graham  

Graham, 34, strip-sacked Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the final moments of Super Bowl LII. The game-changing play swung the momentum in the Eagles direction and helped them win it all.

The 2020 Pro Bowler has been a mainstay on the Eagles formidable defensive line. He missed 15 games last season with a torn Achilles. He has played well this season, notching 28 tackles and 8.5 sacks. 

Graham shows no signs of slowing but is set to become a free agent in 2024 when his contract expires, per Over the Cap. Of the three players mentioned on this list, Graham is the one who is most likely to stick around. 

He told NBC Sports Philadelphia in June that he'd like to play three more seasons. But few defensive linemen play into their mid-30s and beyond.