Here's what inspired Eagles veterans Jason Kelce, Brandon Graham to return to the team

It was certainly possible after the Eagles' debacle last season that veterans Jason Kelce and Brandon Graham could have said they had enough.

They could have asked for a trade or release, or simply retired after a 4-11-1 season that led to the firing of head coach Doug Pederson, the trade of franchise quarterback Carson Wentz and the likely departure of tight end Zach Ertz.

Both Kelce and Graham are nearing their mid-30s and have accomplished pretty much everything during their NFL careers. Both have won a Super Bowl, been to at least one Pro Bowl, and established themselves as pillars in Eagles' history – Kelce as a center and Graham as a defensive end.

Kelce has contemplated retirement in each of the last three offseasons.

Yet both have returned, even though there's a new coaching staff in place, with offensive and defensive coordinators who are only a handful of years older than they are, and to a team that even Kelce acknowledged is in "a transitional period"

Sure, the money is good. But there's more to it than that.

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"There’s no question we’re in a transition period," Kelce said as the Eagles continued their spring drills under new head coach Nick Sirianni. "There’s a lot of change that’s happened within the building."

But then Kelce added this:

"I think the biggest difference between football and a lot of other sports is that being in a transition period doesn’t mean you can’t compete and be competitive ... I think the bottom line is we can be competitive, win games, and we can win this division. I have no doubt about that if we go about it the right way."

Graham said he feels the same way. He called Sirianni "a younger version of the Andy Reid era." 

Eagles management showed Graham that they're still serious about contending in the NFC East by signing defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, who had been the Eagles' nemesis for 10 seasons while playing for Washington.

"I love that," Graham said. "You can’t have too many pass rushers at all. I hear people talking about how him being like Chris Long (in 2017). Chris Long was a beast, and Kerrigan is a beast."

Graham and Kelce are the longest-tenured Eagles. Graham arrived as a first-round pick in 2010, while Kelce came in the sixth round in 2011.

They had different paths to their status now, something they can share with their younger teammates. 

Kelce won a starting job Week 1 of his rookie season, and has the longest starting streak among active NFL centers at 105 games. Graham was admittedly on the verge of getting released in 2015 before turning his career around.

Graham has 30 sacks over the last four seasons, and was selected to his first Pro Bowl last season.

"I’m going to be a little more vocal now because guys want to know how to get to this level of being here this long," Graham said. "I tell them it’s the regimen. It’s how you treat people every day, how you handle yourself."

The Eagles might have drafted Kelce's and Graham's successors. They picked center Landon Dickerson in the second round and drafted defensive ends Tarron Jackson and Patrick Johnson in Rounds 6 and 7, respectively.

Kelce said he's fine with that, and that he has already talked with Dickerson, who's currently rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered in December. 

"He’s as advertised," Kelce said. "He’s a big, fun guy, loves the game of football. You can tell that right away. He loves talking about football. He’s got a great personality, so I think this kid’s going to offer a lot to our room."

Kelce and Graham said they have been rejuvenated by Sirianni's energy, along with that of offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.

"He’s big on being connected," Kelce said. "He’s big on building a culture where people are not just playing football together, but really forming a bond and being connected outside of football as well."

Graham described some of the changes, beginning with a basketball hoop in the team meeting room. 

"I know it will be shots up," Graham said with a laugh. "What I love most is they hold you accountable. They keep you on edge because you never know when coach is going to call on you. You have to stay on point. You have to stay engaged."

Who knows? Maybe a game of rock, paper, scissors will break out, like Sirianni described recently holding with potential draftees during Zoom interviews leading up to the draft.

Kelce and Graham expect to be ready.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.