Getty Kansas City Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen.
Through five weeks of the regular season, Kansas City Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen has been one of the worst players at his position in the entire NFL. He has graded out at 35.0 by PFF, which ranks at 83 out of 85 qualified players at the safety position. His play is part of the reason the Chiefs defense ranks near the bottom of the league in most major statistical categories, like yards per game allowed (31st), points per game allowed (32.6) and turnovers forced (26th), per ESPN.
The criticism of Sorensen from some in Chiefs Kingdom brewed over the first month of the regular season. However, it boiled over in Week 5 when NBC’s Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth praised Sorensen during Kansas City’s game against the Buffalo Bills, leading to Twitter roasting Collinsworth, noting the many statistics that led to Sorensen’s poor grade by PFF.
However, it seems that the sour feelings toward Sorensen reached an all-time high prior to Kansas City’s Week 6 matchup against the Washington Football Team.
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The GoFundMe Campaign Aimed to Raise $2.46 Million
On Monday, October 11, a GoFundMe campaign was created by a person named Chandler Wallander, who is presumably a Chiefs fan based on the fact that he took the time to create the campaign. He created the campaign to raise money to buy out Sorensen’s contract with the Chiefs, which would ultimately lead to his departure from the team.
There is a GoFundMe to buyout #Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen’s contract. It’s a tough crowd around here.
$25 down, $2,461,975 to go.
The goal was to raise $2.46 million, the entire amount of the one-year deal he signed with Kansas City this offseason, according to Spotrac.
However, the page is no longer accepting donations and indicates the $85 raised was donated to the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation. Nevertheless, the attempt to raise the money highlights the strong negative feelings at least one Chiefs fan has towards the veteran safety based on his production this season.
Sorensen on Defensive Miscues, Bills
Sorensen spoke with the media on Wednesday, October 6, and was asked about cleaning up the miscommunications that happened on defense through the first month of the regular season.
“Hey, that’s what we’re out here to do. We’re going to go out here today and tomorrow and Friday and put in work and hammer away at it,” Sorenson said. “Each week you expect to improve and that’s what we talk about is chase improvement. So, we’ll identify areas that we need to get better at, and there’s lots of them honestly, and we’ll just keep chipping away at it like we always do and then continue to improve week in and week out.”
Asked whether the Chiefs can “still lean on some of the things that helped you guys get over that hump” during a difficult 2019 season, Sorensen was optimistic.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Sorensen said. “You know, we’ve got a lot of the same core guys and so again it’s about adapting and adjusting and working at things to improve and … if there’s a team or a coaching staff or a group of players that’s been there and done that it’s us.”
With Kansas City now sitting a 2-3 on the season and last place in the AFC West, it’s time some major changes happen for them defensively. Whether it’s changing the way they facilitate their scheme under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the players they are utilizing and the capacity in which they are utilized, or signing a free agent and/or making a trade for a defensive playmaker, an adjustment of some sort needs to be made.