Even before 2021, Kansas City Chiefs fans either loved or despised safety Daniel Sorensen.
The former Brigham Young Cougar has spent his entire career in Kansas City, joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Sorensen served as a special teams starter for his first few years but steadily increased his defensive snaps. After playing in nearly half of Kansas City’s defensive plays in 2016, the Chiefs re-signed Sorensen to a four-year, $16 million deal. The once nondescript rookie had evolved into a glue player for Kansas City, being a reliable third or fourth option at safety.
“Daniel has been a very efficient player for us, both on defense and special teams,” then-General Manager John Dorsey said. “He’s a relentless worker and a team-first guy. He’s grown each year in our system and I look forward to watching him develop even more as we move forward.”
After that extension, Sorensen quickly turned into a starter for the Chiefs. He started in 14 games. logging 89 combined tackles and six passes defended. At that time, Sorensen had the support of fans, despite a middling performance on the team. His no-nonsense style appealed to many Midwestern fans and he was rarely a liability on the field.
Those 14 starts in 2017 remain the most in a season for Sorensen, as he was moved down the depth chart. His name was usually on the roster bubble lists each offseason after 2017, courtesy of his mediocre numbers at $4 million APY. But, both defensive coordinators Bob Sutton and Steve Spagnuolo decided to keep him around.
2020 saw Sorensen’s regression hit high gear, recording career-highs in missed tackles and passer rating allowed. He was an obvious weakness, yet started 11 games for Kansas City. Fans called for Sorensen’s tenure to end in Kansas City, yet the team brought him back on a one-year deal. He remained the third safety on the depth chart, squarely behind Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill.
Now that Sorensen’s contract is over, is there any reason to bring him back? Or will Sorensen’s Kansas City career end with a whimper?
Why bring him back?
Wow, this list is short.
For optimism’s sake, Sorensen is very familiar with Spagnuolo’s scheme. He has been in Kansas City for Spagsnuolo’s entire tenure as defensive coordinator. Sorensen could serve as a continuity option if Mathieu leaves in free agency, helping ease the transition to a new or younger safety.
In the past, Sorensen showed good instincts at the line of scrimmage. Those quality instincts helped make some key plays this past season, albeit few and far between. At the end of the day, Sorensen is a wily, team-first veteran who has the mind for football.
Why let him leave?
Now here is where the meat is.
Sorensen was awful in 2021. Even on a historically bad Chiefs defense, Sorensen stood out. His 25% missed tackle percentage was the league’s worst, with 17 missed tackles. Sorensen allowed a 132.9 passer rating in 17 games, the fourth-worst in the league. The awful statistics continue for Sorensen, as there are many to list. Kansas City Star’s Pete Grathoff pointed out how bad Sorensen was early in the season.
"At one point earlier this month, opposing quarterbacks had a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeting Sorensen. That was 50 points higher than last season."
Sorensen was near or a part of several highlight plays against Kansas City this year. He was a clear liability in coverage and could not be relied on up in the open field. Sorensen regressed quickly, while Kansas City greatly missed the quality depth he provided.
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Sorensen was never an exceptional athlete, compared to his NFL peers, but he was a shell of his physical self in 2021. Football IQ can only carry a player so far, and it cannot carry Sorensen anymore.
Recommendation
This is the shortest free agent profile for Arrowhead Addict so far this season. There is a reason for that.
Fans know how bad Sorensen was during the season. No article in 2022 can explain that more. Each Kansas City game has one moment where Sorensen either made the wrong read, gave up a big pass, or missed a tackle. A game could have all three if it was a bad one. Fans called for Sorensen’s benching, release, or retirement for much of 2021.
Sorensen had moments where he looked like his old self, but overall it was a terrible season. Bringing him back in 2022 would show Kansas City’s commitment to defensive mediocrity and display an unwillingness to simply move on.
Sorensen is well below a replacement level. Kansas City needs to get younger defensively anyways. A majority of players, whether drafted or signed, would be an improvement from Sorensen. Kansas City needs to recognize that and look to a future without Sorensen.
Now, as for Sorensen’s career. Any team that signs him is taking on unnecessary risk. He is not worth the league-minimum salary now, sad to say. Selfishly, fans should hope that retirement is Sorensen’s next move. He had his moments for the Chiefs, but these past two years soured much of his goodwill.
Prediction
Sorensen and the Chiefs part ways. What Sorensen does from there is a mystery.