In some ways, you could not tell the story of the NFL during the 21st century without the exploits of Mike Vrabel. Before becoming the head coach of the New England Patriots during the Drake Maye era, Vrabel was a starting linebacker for three separate Patriots Super Bowl championship teams in the 2000s. He parlayed his successful playing days into his current coaching career, which included stops at Ohio State, with the Houston Texans, and a successful six-year stint with the Tennessee Titans.

Yet, despite Vrabel's being a 27-year NFL institution of sorts at this point, there's something weird and unexpected he will have done during the Chicago Bears' matchup with the Patriots on Thursday night.

Per Bears writer Larry Mayer, Vrabel will finally appear in a game at Soldier Field in any capacity in downtown Chicago. That's right. It took over a quarter-century for Vrabel to do this. Why did it take so long, you might ask? Well, one of Vrabel's only real opportunities to appear at Soldier Field was in 2002, when the Bears were renovating the stadium while playing their home games in Champaign, Illinois.

Other than that, his playing and coaching stops have just never synced up with a game at Soldier Field over the years. Huh. Talk about a coincidence.

What a quirky statistic for someone kind of synonymous with the modern NFL. We'll see how Vrabel's Patriots fare against the Bears in his first-ever appearance at one of Chicago's signature sports venues.