Editor’s note: This column has been updated to reflect the Bears’ trade for Nick Foles.



Acquisitions were not the most encouraging news from Halas Hall in the first wave of free agency.



Acknowledged mistakes were.



General manager Ryan Pace is showing a willingness to admit to missteps, despite some previous indications that he was digging in. To admit mistakes, he has had to evaluate his own roster honestly, without bias. Few assignments are more challenging in an NFL front office.



It was a mistake to trade up for Leonard Floyd and select him with the ninth pick of the 2016 draft. Pace did that because he thought Floyd could make big plays. That didn’t happen often enough, and it would have been a more significant mistake to bring him back in 2020 at a salary of $13.2 million. Instead, the Bears thanked Floyd for his services, gathered his belongings in a large black garbage bag, and used their freed-up cash to sign Robert...