Personally, it is more to do with the signing than the release.
The idea of Howard as a legit TE2 was exciting for the offense's versatility, but I wish Beane would not have invested so much guaranteed money in the first place. $3.19 million ain't nothing.
At the same time, if Howard did not earn his spot, then I also support Beane deciding to part ways to make the roster as strong as possible.
Beane has been very good at acknowledging his own mistakes and in so doing mitigating damages by not spending too long waiting on a player to suddenly develop and getting picks back for guys who would otherwise be released.