While the Chicago Bears are busy preparing to take on the Seattle Seahawks in tonight’s second preseason game of the year, the outcome of said game is not exactly the biggest news of the night.

General manager Ryan Poles spoke with ESPN on Thursday, and let’s just say that what he had to reveal should strike fear into the hearts of many players on the current roster.

At the very least, one particular quote should make them a little nervous.

When speaking with ESPN, Poles said something pretty blunt, letting everyone know that his roster could look much different in a couple of weeks.

Ryan Poles may not be done making moves prior to the Chicago Bears’ regular season opener.

Now, what Poles said is a pretty obvious quote if we’re talking about a literal meaning. Yes, the rosters are going to be cut down from 85 to 53 in a matter of weeks. That’s a huge jump. We’re talking about 32 players being without a job and hoping for a spot on the practice squad.

But, something tells me that Poles wasn’t going for the literal, obvious reasoning, here.

One can only wonder what Poles would mean when analyzing this quote even further.

For a while now, the Bears and All Pro linebacker Roquan Smith have been in a contract dispute which resulted in Smith requesting to be traded. While that situation seemed ugly at the time, Smith has actually still “held in” rather than holding out of camp altogether.

Sticking around his teammates and being there for the team shows he indeed wants to be a Bear, but would Poles be so bold to actually trade him?

If it’s not about Smith, maybe Poles is hinting at the team finally seeing a good enough offer to deal Robert Quinn before the season gets started.

But, if we’re going down that avenue, we have to go the opposite direction, too. Maybe, just maybe, Poles has finally had enough of the chatter around his first offseason being a failure in terms of surrounding Justin Fields with enough talent and protection.

Poles is a former offensive lineman. We have to remember that. Maybe, the offensive line isn’t good enough in his eyes (and everyone else’s, obviously). Suppose he sets out to upgrade the line via trade — that would be a welcomed sight.

By the same token, Poles could go out and acquire wide receiver help, which is another position fans are seriously concerned about.

Just what did he mean by this quote? We don’t know right now, but we will soon find out in just a matter of days.

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Nothing like an opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art to showcase the exceptional style Chicagoans have, in all their diversity. The festivities in May celebrating artist Nick Cave’s solo exhibition “Forothermore” were no exception. Body coverings were a central theme and could be appreciated on every level: on guests’ outfits in their special post-lockdown glee; on Cave’s fashion collection (as presented at the“The Color Is”gala at the DuSable Black History Museum); and, last but not least, on Cave’s breathtaking Soundsuits displayed throughout his major retrospective at the MCA, curated by Naomi Beckwith. 

The first time I ever witnessed the magic of the aforementioned Soundsuits was in 2014 at a student fashion show at the School of the Art Institute, where Cave is a professor and the chair of the fashion design department. Seeing Cave’s work at the fashion show was a memorable experience of sheer joy. 

Cave’s performance felt like a huge intergalactic party, featuring a parade of unique characters that looked, moved, and sounded like fascinating alien beings—each representing a very particular universe. Performers danced fully covered head to toe in amazingly intricate costumes, made of all kinds of unexpected materials. Cave has said that he considers his Soundsuits as a “second skin, or a suit of armor” which “erases gender, race, and class” and also regards them as “transformative objects with life-affirming potential when they are worn.” In the Nick Cave: Forothermore catalog, MCA director Madeleine Grynsztejn writes “a Soundsuit—as much as it is a beautiful sculpture adorned with some of the most vibrant colors you’ll ever see—is also a message. And what it’s saying is move and change.” 

Click through images from the events below

In addition to the Soundsuits, “Forothermore” includes a mesmerizing site-specific kinetic installation called Spinner Forest, textural sculptures, videos, and more. There are also off-site interventions connected to the show, such as Ba Boom Boom Pa Pop Pop at Art on the Mart, a video projection created by Cave and projected on the Merchandise Mart building nightly at 9:30 PM until September 7, and “Power of the Party: Chicago House and Nick Cave”, an event taking place at the DuSable on August 27.

“Power of the Party” is presented by the MCA and features Dr. Meida Teresa McNeal, the artistic and managing director of Honey Pot Performance, a Chicago-based Afro-feminist public humanities organization, and DJ Lori Branch, a pioneering force in Chicago’s house music and nightlife scenes. The event will include a discussion between McNeal and Branch about the early house music scene in Chicago and its influence on Cave’s work. According to Dr. McNeal, who, along with Branch, is part of the team that created The Chicago Black Social Culture Map, the house music parties were “the places where we created ways of gathering with our chosen family to lift ourselves up and find joy and release and strength to move forward.” 

“I see that in so much of Nick Cave’s body of work. So much of it comes from really horrible racialized experiences and trauma. But he takes those things and tries to reconfigure them as sites of pleasure, by making something beautiful out of something terrible,” she says. After their talk, Branch will perform a set inspired by Nick Cave’s art, providing a soundtrack to kick off “The Color Is,” an exhibition exploring the same themes of the similarly named gala: fashion and design objects by Cave and his brother Jack. It will be on view at the DuSable until November 27.

“Forothermore”Through 10/2: Tue 10 AM-9 PM, Wed-Sun 10 AM-5 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago, admission and visitor information at mcachicago.org

Power of the Party: Chicago House and Nick CaveTue 8/27, 1 PM (talk) and 3 PM (DJ Lori Branch performance), DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, 740 E. 56th Pl., free with registration, dusablemuseum.org

“The Color Is”8/27-11/27, Wed-Sun 11 AM-4 PM, DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, 740 E. 56th Pl., timed admission and visitor information at dusablemuseum.org

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Nothing like an opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art to showcase the exceptional style Chicagoans have, in all their diversity. The festivities in May celebrating artist Nick Cave’s solo exhibition “Forothermore” were no exception. Body coverings were a central theme and could be appreciated on every level: on guests’ outfits in their special post-lockdown glee; on Cave’s fashion collection (as presented at the“The Color Is”gala at the DuSable Black History Museum); and, last but not least, on Cave’s breathtaking Soundsuits displayed throughout his major retrospective at the MCA, curated by Naomi Beckwith. 

The first time I ever witnessed the magic of the aforementioned Soundsuits was in 2014 at a student fashion show at the School of the Art Institute, where Cave is a professor and the chair of the fashion design department. Seeing Cave’s work at the fashion show was a memorable experience of sheer joy. 

Cave’s performance felt like a huge intergalactic party, featuring a parade of unique characters that looked, moved, and sounded like fascinating alien beings—each representing a very particular universe. Performers danced fully covered head to toe in amazingly intricate costumes, made of all kinds of unexpected materials. Cave has said that he considers his Soundsuits as a “second skin, or a suit of armor” which “erases gender, race, and class” and also regards them as “transformative objects with life-affirming potential when they are worn.” In the Nick Cave: Forothermore catalog, MCA director Madeleine Grynsztejn writes “a Soundsuit—as much as it is a beautiful sculpture adorned with some of the most vibrant colors you’ll ever see—is also a message. And what it’s saying is move and change.” 

Click through images from the events below

In addition to the Soundsuits, “Forothermore” includes a mesmerizing site-specific kinetic installation called Spinner Forest, textural sculptures, videos, and more. There are also off-site interventions connected to the show, such as Ba Boom Boom Pa Pop Pop at Art on the Mart, a video projection created by Cave and projected on the Merchandise Mart building nightly at 9:30 PM until September 7, and “Power of the Party: Chicago House and Nick Cave”, an event taking place at the DuSable on August 27.

“Power of the Party” is presented by the MCA and features Dr. Meida Teresa McNeal, the artistic and managing director of Honey Pot Performance, a Chicago-based Afro-feminist public humanities organization, and DJ Lori Branch, a pioneering force in Chicago’s house music and nightlife scenes. The event will include a discussion between McNeal and Branch about the early house music scene in Chicago and its influence on Cave’s work. According to Dr. McNeal, who, along with Branch, is part of the team that created The Chicago Black Social Culture Map, the house music parties were “the places where we created ways of gathering with our chosen family to lift ourselves up and find joy and release and strength to move forward.” 

“I see that in so much of Nick Cave’s body of work. So much of it comes from really horrible racialized experiences and trauma. But he takes those things and tries to reconfigure them as sites of pleasure, by making something beautiful out of something terrible,” she says. After their talk, Branch will perform a set inspired by Nick Cave’s art, providing a soundtrack to kick off “The Color Is,” an exhibition exploring the same themes of the similarly named gala: fashion and design objects by Cave and his brother Jack. It will be on view at the DuSable until November 27.

“Forothermore”Through 10/2: Tue 10 AM-9 PM, Wed-Sun 10 AM-5 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago, admission and visitor information at mcachicago.org

Power of the Party: Chicago House and Nick CaveTue 8/27, 1 PM (talk) and 3 PM (DJ Lori Branch performance), DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, 740 E. 56th Pl., free with registration, dusablemuseum.org

“The Color Is”8/27-11/27, Wed-Sun 11 AM-4 PM, DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, 740 E. 56th Pl., timed admission and visitor information at dusablemuseum.org

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At this stage in the game, the Chicago Bears should be very worried about their receiving core. Second-year quarterback Justin Fields has seen a couple of his wideouts get banged up, and the group was already thin.

Veterans David Moore, Byron Pringle and N’Keal Harry will miss extended time due to injury and as of right now, it’s looking like Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown and Velus Jones Jr. as the top three guys. But, beyond those three, it is slim pickings between Dazz Newsome, Dante Pettis, Tajae Sharpe and a few others.

The Bears already tried trading for Harry, before his injury, and the deal looked great on paper. Only giving up a seventh rounder seemed like a no-brainer for a former first-round kid.

But now, it might be time for the Bears to look East once again and try to land another former big name collegiate receiver: Denzel Mims of the New York Jets.

New York Jets wide receiver Denzel Mims would be another perfect trade target for the Chicago Bears.

As a second rounder back in 2020, Mims came to the Jets as someone who could make tough catches and possibly be a big, outside presence. However, through two seasons, Mims has caught just 31 passes for 490 yards and zero touchdowns.

To say he’s been a bust would be putting it lightly, but Mims is still out to prove that he belongs.

“This offseason I worked like crazy to get ready for this season. I feel like I’ve grown in each area as a receiver, worked my tail off catching everything I can and becoming the best receiver I can, and even with my health, eating all the right things. I’m just trying to do everything right.” (NYJ official website)

So, why would the Bears trade for a guy like Mims, who is just another young guy trying to reclaim his career?

Because he can still do this:

Look, Mims is a bigger guy at 6-foot-3 and if he’s truly undergone the most rigorous and strict offseason of his career thus far, maybe he’s onto something. But, it’s probably not going to be in New York.

The Jets drafted Garrett Wilson in the first round of this year’s draft, and already had Elijah Moore in the fold from the 2021 class. New York paid up for Corey Davis, too, and also re-signed Braxton Berrios.

Mims’ time with the Jets seems as though it’s a ticking time bomb. He very well could be a casualty of veteran cuts later this month.

Or, maybe the Jets try and trade him to a team like the Bears, who are desperate at the position. For a late-round conditional pick, Mims would be well-worth the gamble. He is still just 24 years old with plenty of football in front of him, if he wants it bad enough.

Getting Fields another big-bodied weapon on the outside couldn’t hurt, and for an inexpensive price, general manager Ryan Poles should be looking hard at Mims.

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