When it comes to trading one of your best players, people are always going to ask questions. Elite NFL players are hard to find so it's usually rather surprising when teams do in fact trade their stars.

That's what happened with Andy Reid on Monday when he was asked about the Chiefs' recent decision to trade Tyreek Hill to the Chiefs. The move marked the umpteenth mega-blockbuster trade this offseason and like the others, it was a really surprising move.

The whole situation went from flying under everyone outside the confines of GEHA Field's radar to making headline news in what felt like one hour. Therefore, people wanted to gain clarity on what exactly went down between Hill and the Chiefs.

"I love Tyreek Hill," Reid told reporters Monday at the annual NFL meetings. "There's no rift between Tyreek Hill and myself. I thought he deserved an opportunity if that's where he wanted to go. He's a family man that has a few kids and he's got to be able to support them now and down the road, and this gives him an opportunity to do that. At the same time, it gives us great compensation.

"We came in aggressive [offering a contract], and after we got to a point, we just said, 'Listen, in this day and age you have issues you have to deal with with the cap.' So we felt like it was better to allow him to go ahead and be traded. … You can go different routes with a player. You can play hardball or you can go about it the way I did, or we did."

It's clear Reid and the Chiefs tried their best to keep Hill. They wanted him to stay. Elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes don't come around often. So when they do, you want to make sure they have as many good weapons as possible.

And even though the Chiefs lost out on Hill, they have been able to sign some pretty good players in his stead.

JuJu Smith-Schuster was signed before the trade and while he won't take over Hill's role, he's shown he can be a productive receiver when adequate quarterback play is involved. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a deep threat with an ideal blend of size and speed. And then Ronald Jones II brings a downhill, physical running style to the backfield that the other running backs on the roster don't possess.

"You want to surround him with great players," Reid said. "We did try to sign Tyreek at a certain cost. Once it gets past that, now you can see what we're doing here with the players we brought in and we feel they're very good football players.

"[General manager Brett Veach] is building this thing to where we feel we can win on Sundays."

The Chiefs still have two picks in the first- and second-rounds of the draft to stock up on the offensive side of the ball, as well. And to tie it all in a nice, neat bow: The extra picks come courtesy of the Hill trade.

"You've got to be able to manage that the right way," Reid said. "If you're paying all of your money to a quarterback and you can't surround him with players, that can be a problem. So you have to find a way with a Tyreek Hill maybe that you have to get rid of so you can replenish. That's offense and defense. I'm not just talking about the offensive side."

It was pretty clear the whole Hill trade was about money from the beginning. So really, there was nothing the Chiefs could do to make Hill stay, at the end of the day.

Reid and the Chiefs took their lumps and now they're doing a really good job of making chicken salad out of the whole situation. It just needs to translate on to the field come July.

Featured image via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports