Their screw up was unnecessarily extending Foles in the first place. That was an incredibly bad decision.
But it's doubtful they missed out on any trade value by cutting him too soon. We'll see because if a team like the Vikings or Cowboys is interested in him, he'll certainly be available from the Chiefs. But they couldn't bring him to camp if they had no intention of letting him make the team. Can't waste valuable and scarce reps on a guy you don't want and couldn't trade on the off-chance a team might get so desperate they change their mind and come calling for Foles somewhere down the line.