Time for Chip Kelly to Heal the Philadelphia Eagles' Locker Room

If Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly isn't spending this week mending fences with his players, then he will pay a far greater price than what it would have cost to acquire Marcus Mariota.

According to Mark Eckel of NJ Advance Media, Philadelphia was willing to package quarterback Sam Bradford, second-team All-Pro Fletcher Cox, former second-round pick Mychal Kendricks and draft picks in order to move up to take Mariota with the second overall selection.

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Even when the Eagles sent their starting quarterback, Nick Foles, to the St. Louis Rams in order to acquire Bradford, there was still a healthy level of skepticism about whether he was simply the means to an end or if this was the guy Kelly was prepared to move forward with.

Provided Eckel's report is accurate, we have our answer.

Bradford has had to overcome injuries (tearing his left ACL twice in the last two seasons), the team that drafted him gave up on him this offseason, and now, the former No. 1 overall pick knows that the Eagles viewed him more as a trade chip than as their starting quarterback.

By now, Kelly should have already called Bradford. He may even want to arrange a sit-down, so they can talk face-to-face. Between everything Bradford has been through and the fact that he is presumably Philadelphia's starting quarterback next season, Kelly can't afford to let his failed pursuit of Mariota linger in Bradford's mind.

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The third-year head coach also must steer his way out of the mess he has created around Cox and Kendricks. The former is a key cog on defense and the best player on an Eagles defensive line that lacks quality depth. The latter represents a chance for Kelly to prove to his own players, as well as those around the league, that he knows how to handle dealing with professional athletes.

According to Derrick Gunn of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Kendricks had been absent from the Eagles' voluntary offseason program for two weeks before he recently returned.

Matt Lombardo of NJ Advance Media added to Gunn's report, saying that Kendricks went on a pre-planned vacation and then helped his brother, Eric, prepare for the NFL draft. Still, his status with the Eagles remains uncertain.

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Kelly was reunited this offseason with Kiko Alonso, who was one of his linebackers with the Oregon Ducks. The Eagles also addressed Kendricks' position at the draft, using a third-round pick on Jordan Hicks of the Texas Longhorns.

If Kendricks is to remain in Philadelphia, it is likely as an insurance policy for Alonso, who missed all of last year with the Buffalo Bills due to a torn ACL, and DeMeco Ryans, who played in just eight games in 2014 after suffering an Achilles injury, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

You could say, as professional athletes and grown men, it is the responsibility of players like Bradford, Cox and Kendricks to put the turmoil surrounding their offseasons behind them. While that may be true to a degree, a blanket statement like that fails to appreciate that these are individuals, not robots who perform on Sundays and then go back in the closet until the next game.

Kelly has gone 10-6 in both of his seasons with the Eagles. He helped Philadelphia go from a 4-12 team to the NFC East Division champions. But he also has failed to win a single playoff game. If he is ever going to get over that hump and perhaps hoist the Lombardi Trophy one day, he first has to win over the locker room.