5 free agents the Eagles need to re-sign this offseason

The Philadelphia Eagles found themselves in the midst of one of the worst late-season collapses this year, starting 10-1 and winning just one of their final six games. That left the team with no home-field advantage in the playoffs and a quick elimination at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round. 

This gut-wrenching failure to produce any playoff success has led to questions over who should stay and who should go. Philadelphia has a fantastic mix of veteran leadership and young players in the locker room. This offseason's free agency period will answer the question of whether the Eagles will continue to play off of that strategy long-term or go all in on building a young team. 

The Eagles have 19 players set to hit the open market at the time of this story's release. They'll be forced into making some crucial decisions this year. Here's a look at five guys we'd like to see remain on the roster.

Fletcher Cox, defensive tackle

Is this the last run for the Eagle's Super Bowl-winning defensive core? It is highly unlikely that the team will be able to find anyone as irreplaceable as four-time All-Pro Fletcher Cox. The Eagles legend started 15 games this season, finishing with 33 combined tackles, 17 quarterback hits, five sacks, and a forced fumble. 

It's easy to say that, at 34 years old, his production can be expected to fall off. Cox has been the heart and soul of an Eagles defense that won a Super Bowl five years ago and has not had a single season in his entire career in which his production could be called into question.

Bringing him back on a one-year deal to have him mentor one more generation of rookies and put up fine numbers on a potential Super Bowl-contending team is a no-brainer here.