KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs saw seven regulars depart as free agents last year and released an eighth. Here we're continuing a series looking back at each of those decisions and rendering a verdict whether the Chiefs made the right decision in letting the player walk.

Today: G Jon Asamoah.

Asamoah lost his starting job midway through his final season with the Chiefs to Geoff Schwartz, but he was still a productive player in Kansas City. Even though he was on the bench for most of the last half of that season, Asamoah still received an impressive free-agent contract (five years, $22.5 million) from the Atlanta Falcons. Scott Pioli, the Chiefs’ general manager in 2010 when they drafted Asamoah in the third round, is now the assistant GM in Atlanta.

Asamoah didn’t grade as well by Pro Football Focus last year with the Falcons as he did in 2013 with the Chiefs. But he still would have been a better player than either Zach Fulton or Mike McGlynn, the two Chiefs’ starting guards most of last season. Asamoah is also only 26, so he should have several good seasons remaining.

Verdict: The Chiefs may gain a compensatory draft pick this year for allowing Asamoah sign with another team for a relatively lucrative contract. But retaining either Asamoah or Schwartz, who signed with the New York Giants, would have made sense both for last season and in the longer term. The Chiefs should have invested in one or the other.