Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is one of the best front office leaders in the NFL.

But that doesn't mean he's perfect.

Veach made a misstep this offseason that I think is being overlooked a bit too much.

The Chiefs signed safety Justin Reid early during the offseason to replace Tyrann Mathieu, a key defensive player and team leader that KC elected to not bring back because of his price.

When Veach initially made the decision to sign Reid and let Mathieu walk, it made sense. Kansas City was planning on extending offensive lineman Orlando Brown and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. There simply wasn't enough cash to go around for everyone.

But in the weeks since that decision, it's become painfully clear that Veach didn't have a good grip on his offseason plan (which seemed rushed).

The Chiefs ended up trading Hill to the Miami Dolphins (because the price to extend Hill was too high for Kansas City), which means Veach had more cash to play around with than he previously thought.

Kansas City would've had plenty of space to sign Mathieu to another three-year deal with a Hill extension off the table.

That's not the worst part, though.

Veach didn't even negotiate with Mathieu this offseason.

It turns out that the Honey Badger was willing to re-sign with the Chiefs for the same deal that Reid received (three years for $31.5 million).

“To be honest, if they would’ve offered me Justin Reid’s deal, obviously I would’ve tried to negotiate, but if that’s where they drew their line in the sand, I probably would’ve took it," said Mathieu earlier this month to KansasCity.com. "I probably would’ve took it."

The Chiefs could've brought back their main defensive leader for the same price as his replacement. Reid is a good player, but he's not Mathieu.

Kansas City is a better team with Mathieu on the field. The intangibles he brings to the defense are irreplaceable.

Veach messed up. There's really no way around it. He miscalculated what it would take to re-sign Hill.

(Though to be fair, the Davante Adams contract threw a wrench in those plans, but as a front office executive, he should've had an idea that wide receiver contracts rising significantly was a possibility.)

And then not even discussing a new contract with Mathieu is inexcusable. By not having that conversation, Mathieu missed on the opportunity to bring one of the Chiefs' star players (and a fan favorite) back in 2022.

Veach has done a great job in Kansas City. But this wasn't a shining moment for him.

Featured image via Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports