Among the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason free agent class were two established veterans in the secondary — cornerback Bashaud Breeland and safety Daniel Sorensen. Last Friday, FanSided’s national NFL reporter Matt Verderame noted that while nothing was imminent, “it remains a possibility” that the AFC champions could bring back both players next season.
According to Chiefs beat reporter Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star on Monday, the Chiefs are finalizing a new one-year, $2.46 fully guaranteed deal with Sorensen.
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Sorensen Coming off a Career-Best Season
Sorensen will now return for his eighth NFL season, all of which have been in a Chiefs uniform. The BYU product originally joined the team as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and has climbed the ranks ever since. Last season, Sorensen turned in a career-best effort, registering a personal and team-high 91 combined tackles (13 more than the next closest teammate), five pass breakups, three interceptions and his third-career pick-six.
He was also part of yet another clutch impact play — this one more controversial — against the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Divisional Round.
Instead of going into halftime with a touchdown and the ball back, the #Browns have the worst luck ever.
Fumble into the endzone, touchback.
While he wasn’t fined or suspended for initiating contact with his helmet on the touchdown-saving play, Sorensen was fined four separate times under his previous contract.
The 31-year-old most recently signed a four-year, $16 million extension with the club in 2017 and his new average annual value of $2.46 million now ranks 41st among all safeties, per Spotrac. Sorensen should return to his integral special teams role while assuming similar hybrid safety and linebacker responsibilities on defense, albeit behind Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill.
While some fans will continue to grumble about Sorensen’s elevated playing time (more than 80% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2020), re-signing the veteran leader who is privy to Steve Spagnuolo’s system is the safe move to solidify the position in the short term. Although a new infusion of talent in April’s NFL Draft is certainly not out of the question.
Chiefs Hosting 49ers Free Agent Cornerback
On Tuesday, Kansas City will bring in San Francisco 49ers slot cornerback K’Waun Williams for a free agent visit, according to a report from NJ.com beat writer Mike Kaye on Sunday.
Like Sorensen, the soon-to-be 30-year-old was a 2014 undrafted free agent who carved out a niche secondary role. After spending his first two years in Cleveland, Williams landed with the 49ers where he had been an “X-factor” under former defensive coordinator turned New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh. At 5-foot-9, he would match Mathieu for the shortest defensive back on the roster and has never played a full 16-game schedule due to injuries.
Those concerns aside, Williams has proven effective in his limited, but important role guarding between the numbers and as a blitzer. However, the Chiefs are looking at some market competition from Saleh’s Jets and more recently, the Detroit Lions, according to NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco.
The addition of an established slot corner could be beneficial for roamers like Sorensen and Mathieu, but especially 2020 rookie standout L’Jarius Sneed, who could shift to the outside full-time next season.
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Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the Kansas City Chiefs from enemy territory in Denver, Colorado. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on Chiefs Facebook community for the latest out of Chiefs Kingdom!
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Chiefs Make Final Contract Decision on Daniel Sorensen: Report