With the talk from certain individuals about whether the Eagles were right or not to allow certain veterans to leave this offseason, I decided to take a look, during the Andy Reid era, of the veterans that the Eagles have let go and their fortunes after leaving the Eagles. Note that it's difficult to find past season free agent movement, so I may be missing some here (or forgetting some. Hey, I've got a 3 week old infant at home, I've got other stuff on my mind). Also, I really only looked at "significant" departures, as opposed to backups who may have left and gone on to other teams.

Jeremiah Trotter, LB

Left as a Free Agent after the 2001 season and signed with the Redskins. Played 2 seasons with the Redskins and did not reach the heights he had with the Eagles. Re-signed with the Eagles in 2004 and made the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2001. Was  released after the 2006 season and played part of one season with Tampa Bay before retiring.

Hugh Douglas, DE

Left after the 2002 season via free agency.  Started all 16 games for Jacksonville in 2003, but did not match his 2002 performance. Went from 51 tackles (44 solo) to 26 tackles (21 solo) and from 12.5 sacks to 3.5. Released by Jacksonville after 2003 and re-signed with the Eagles for the 2004 season before retiring.

Duce Staley, RB

Left after the 2003 season. Played a total of 16 games over the following 3 seasons due to injury and then retired. Best season was 2004, where he had 830 yards in 10 games, but played only 5 games in 2005 (148 yards) and 1 game in 2006 (0 yards)

Bobby Taylor, CB

Left after the 2003 season. Played 1 season with the Seattle Seahawks before retiring, playing in only 9 games with no starts and no interceptions in his final season in 2004.

Troy Vincent, CB

Left after the 2003 season and signed as a Free Agent with the Buffalo Bills.  Played 4 additional seasons. Best remaining season was in 2005 after being switched to Safety, where he started all 16 games and had 4 interceptions. Injuries in 2004 and 2006 left him playing a total of 16 games in those 3 seasons. Did not make another Pro Bowl after leaving the Eagles (after having made the Pro Bowl each season from 1999-2003)

Derrick Burgess, DE

One of the few mistakes. Burgess was allowed to leave after the 2004 season and signed with the Raiders. Had his best season in 2005, leading the NFL with 16 sacks and making his first Pro Bowl. He made the Pro Bowl again in 2006 recording 11 sacks. Injured in 2007 and was involved in an infamous in-game altercation with Warren Sapp. Started 10 games in 2008. Has recently been mentioned as being on the trading block, with the Eagles as a possible destination.

Jermaine Mayberry, G/T

Signed with New Orleans after the 2004 season. Played one additional season, starting 8 games, before retiring with an injury in 2006.

Freddie Mitchell, WR

Allowed to leave after the 2004 season. Don’t think I really need to talk about how his career went after that.

Ike Reese, LB

Signed with Atlanta after the 2004 season. Played two additional seasons in a part-time role before retiring. Had more tackles in 2004 (52 (44 solo)) than in 2005 and 2006 combined (44 (37 solo)).

Corey Simon, DT

Was originally given the franchise tag after the 2004 season but was released and signed with the Colts. Started 13 games in 2005, then missed the 2006 season due to injury and was released by the Colts. Signed with the Titans in 2007 before retiring mid-season due to injury.

Hank Fraley, C/G

Traded to Cleveland after Jamaal Jackson won the starting C job in the 2006 pre-season. Was called Cleveland’s offensive MVP by some in 2006. Has started every game since at Center for Cleveland.

Hollis Thomas, DT

Signed with the Saints after the 2006 season. Started well in 2006 but was suspended the final four games of the season after a positive steroid test. Played well in 2007 before an injury in 2008. Was recently let go by the Saints.

Michael Lewis, S

Was let go after the 2006 season after losing his starting job to Sean Considine and signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Hs started all 32 games for the 49ers since, but with only 2 INTs (none in 2008).

Jevon Kearse, DE

Was released after the 2007 season.  Started all 16 games in 2008 (after not doing so in any of his 4 years in Philadelphia). Finished with only 34 tackles (less than in either of his two seasons where he played at least 14 games with the Eagles, 2004 and 2005), and finished with only 3.5 sacks (after having at least 3.5 sacks in each year with the Eagles, including the 2006 season where he played only 2 games)

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Looking at the above, the only glaring "mistake" was in Derrick Burgess. For the rest, either the player did not perform after leaving the Eagles (Trotter, Douglas, Staley, Taylor, Mayberry, Reese, Mitchell, Simon) or was replaced by somebody better (see below).

As for players being replaced by better players, we've got that as well. If we don't let Michael Lewis go, we don't have Demps starting at safety right now. If we don't let Fraley go we don't have Jammal Jackson starting at center. Troy Vincent's departure led to Sheldon Brown and Lito solidifying themselves as our CB pairing. Staley's departure led to Westbrook solidyfying himself as the #1 RB. Kearse's departure has really allowed Trent Cole to shine. In 5 years, don't be surprised to see what the departures this offseason has allowed this team to do.

If you give some of these players contracts based on sentimentality, you lose a lot. Just look at the Patriots. They've been far more ruthless than the Eagles in ridding themselves of veterans -- and have been more successful for it.