I'm not one to put too much stock in what a HC or GM say about a trade, cut, etc. Typically they say nothing, or something so generic, the press/fans take to "interpreting" the remarks, any way their bias/preconception leads them. Belicheat, particularly, is one who just grunts stuff.
But I'm betting there's a lot of truth in this. Making these kinds of decisions is complicated, despite the 'analysys" you see from reporters, or Internet forum experts. They understand there are negatives involved in most any decision. (Still not sure what the negative is in the Kelvin Benjamin deal---but I'm still in the glow.) So, and I rarely do this: Props to Belicheat.
But I still don't discount the possibility some cheating, or something shady, went down given who they are.