A day after the Chicago Bears celebrated their own decisive win against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field Sunday, team leaders honored a Leyden High School District 212 special education teacher for his academic victories.

On Monday, the Chicago Bears recognized Kevin Mitchell, a SD212 special education teacher/vocational coordinator, as a “Chicago Bears Classroom Legend,” with team representatives at West Leyden High School, in Northlake, where he teaches, to tell him of the honor in person and present him with some team swag — and a check, district officials announced in a news release.

Bears Chairman George McCaskey and former Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton surprised Mitchell in his classroom, and gave him a custom football and jersey, tickets to an upcoming game and a check for $1,000.

The school district is made up of two schools, including East Leyden High School in Franklin Park.

Mitchell works with students age 18-22 in the district’s transition program, which helps build independence for post-secondary real-world living, the release states.

”Kevin Mitchell is a winner in the field of education,” said Bears Community Engagement Strategist Emily Rooney. “Not because he accomplishes every goal he sets for himself, but because at the end of the day, he gives his best effort. Kevin embodies what it means to work hard, try your best and be a leader on a team.”

The release explains that Mitchell is a Bears “super fan” and was nominated for this honor by his wife, Danielle Mitchell. She was at the school Monday for the presentation.

”I’m so grateful and I am so honored,” Kevin Mitchell said during the presentation, the release indicates. “It’s not just me, there are so many people, it’s a team effort and I just want to thank you all.”

()

Josh Metellus got his flowers on Sunday afternoon with the Vikings locked in a stalemate with the Las Vegas Raiders. It came in the form of a graphic that popped up during the television broadcast detailing all the positions Metellus has played for the Vikings this season amid a breakout campaign.

The list was so long it almost didn’t fit on the screen.

As the most versatile player on the defense, Metellus has proven he doesn’t have a true position, playing strong safety, free safety, slot cornerback, outside cornerback, inside linebacker, outside linebacker, defensive end and defensive tackle. Sometimes all in the same game. He joked that he should be listed simply as “athlete” on the gameday roster for the Vikings

To say that Metellus has carved out a niche for himself under defensive coordinator Brian Flores would be putting it lightly. After starting his career as an ace on special teams, Metellus has developed into an irreplaceable player on defense, moving freely across the field regardless of the formation.

He’s the queen on the chessboard for the Vikings.

Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) breaks up a pass intended for Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

If they’ve needed him to drop into coverage, he has showcased his ball skills, with an interception to his name as proof. If they’ve needed him to shoot the gap in the trenches, he has done it without hesitation, singlehandedly wrecking plays behind the line of scrimmage. If they’ve needed him to rush the passer, he has blitzed with reckless abandon, constantly getting after the opposing quarterback in the process.

This role has been in the works ever since Flores got hired to replace former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. Some of the earliest conversations between Flores and head coach Kevin O’Connell in the spring centered on using Metellus as a situational player.

There was a tangible shift once training camp started in the summer as Flores started to put more and more on Metellus to see how he would respond. Never mind that veteran safety Harrison Smith and young safety Cam Bynum got all of the reps with the starters. It was pretty clear that Metellus was becoming a fixture on defense.

It was a gradual ramp up from there with Metellus seeing his playing time steadily increase. Nowadays, he rarely leaves the field, playing virtually every snap on defense over the past couple of months. In total, Metellus has played more than 90 percent of the snaps on defense, which trails only Smith and Bynum for the team lead.

All the while Metellus has continued to make game changing plays for the Vikings, like on Sunday when he forced a fumble in the red zone, stopping a drive with the Raiders threatening to score. He’s a legitimate star in the making, and he seems to be getting better and better with each game.

Now it’s time for Metellus to be rewarded for his efforts. As the poster child of the improvement on defense, he deserves to be selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. It’s something he’s actively campaigning for on social media with the selection process determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches.

The voting for fans is open until Christmas Day across various platforms with players and coaches casting their ballots a few days later. The most accessible way for fans to vote over the next couple of weeks will be on the website formerly known as Twitter. In order for a vote to count, it must include the hashtag #ProBowlVote, as well as either the player’s first and last name, or the player’s official Twitter handle.

Unfortunately for Metellus, even though he plays so many different positions for the Vikings, he’s only eligible for the Pro Bowl as a safety. Not that it’s his main focus by any means.

As much as he wants to make the Pro Bowl, Metellus is more concerned with helping the Vikings make the playoffs, which means he’ll have to continue to do a little bit of everything on the field.

Related Articles

Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson has ‘good chance’ to play Saturday in Cincinnati

Vikings rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. played the game of his life, then celebrated with a backflip

Nick Mullens replaces Josh Dobbs at quarterback, leads Vikings to 3-0 win over Raiders

Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson leaves game against Raiders, taken to local hospital out of precaution

Ed Ingram ruled out with hip injury, Blake Brandel set to start for Vikings

An inmate at the Anoka County jail was found dead in his cell Saturday morning, officials say.

A sheriff’s deputy doing rounds at the jail discovered the man unresponsive in his cell about 11:36 a.m., according to a news release issued by the county Monday afternoon.

Medical personnel from Allina EMS and private contractor Advanced Correctional Healthcare responded and provided first aid to the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office will lead the investigation into the man’s death, along with the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

“The responsibility to provide care and supervision to all those legally confined to the Anoka County Jail is one I take very seriously,” Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise said in the news release. “In-custody deaths bring profound impacts to many people including the individual’s family, friends, those housed with them, and detention staff. Both the staff of the Anoka County Jail and I continue our commitment to identify and implement solutions to prevent deaths in our custody.”

This is the second in-custody death of an Anoka County jail inmate in the past six months. A 22-year-old Minneapolis man died in July after becoming unresponsive while being attended to by a detention deputy and medical staff, according to the sheriff’s office.

No further information on Saturday’s in custody death was immediately available.

Related Articles

25 schools, 9 Jewish facilities ‘swatted’ with threats about bombings, shootings, says MN law enforcement