Daniel Sorensen (born March 5, 1990) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU.
College career
Leaving his home state of California Sorensen became a four-year letterwinner at BYU Sorensen played in 51 games, recording 211 tackles (122 solo), 1.0 sack (-9 yards), eight interceptions returned for 81 yards and one touchdown, a school-record 23 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Sorensen was named a team captain and earned first-team Phil Steele All-Independent honors as a senior.
Professional career
On May 11, 2014, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Sorensen to a two-year, $930,000 contract after he went undrafted during the 2014 NFL Draft. After going undrafted, Sorensen received calls and offers from multiple teams, but stated he chose to accept the Chiefs' offer because they showed they really wanted him by having head coach Andy Reid call him personally.
Kansas City Chiefs
2014
Throughout training camp, he competed for a roster spot as a backup safety against Sanders Commings, Jerron McMillian, and Malcolm Bronson. He received an opportunity to display his ability after Commings aggravated a foot injury and missed the majority of training camp. He went on to start three preseason games at strong safety after Eric Berry sustained an injury to his heel. On August 28, 2014, Sorensen recorded five combined tackles and a pass deflection during a 34–14 loss at the Green Bay Packers in their fourth preseason games. He started all four preseason game and recorded nine combined tackles (seven solo) and a pass deflection. Head coach Andy Reid named Sorensen the backup strong safety, behind Eric Berry, to begin the regular season.
He made his professional regular season debut in the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opener against the Tennessee Titans and recorded his first career tackle on Coty Sensabaugh after Sensabaugh recovered a fumble by Titans' kick returner Leon Washington during a Titans' kick return in the second quarter of their 16–10 loss. On September 9, 2014, Sorensen was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs and was signed to the practice squad two days later. It was reported his demotion to practice squad was due to two blunders on special teams that resulted in a failed fake punt and an offsides penalty during their 24–10 victory against the New York Jets. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 1, 2014. On December 28, 2014, Sorensen recorded a season-high two solo tackles in the Chiefs' 19–7 victory against the San Diego Chargers. He finished his rookie season with seven combined tackles (six solo) in nine games and zero starts and was a consistent contributor on special teams.
2015
Sorensen entered training camp competing for a roster spot as a backup safety against Sanders Commings, Kelcie McCray, and Justin Cox. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton named Sorensen the third free safety on the depth chart to start the 2015 regular season, behind starter Husain Abdullah and Eric Berry. He was also named the starting punt protector by special teams coach Dave Toub.
In Week 10, Sorensen recorded three solo tackles and his first career pass deflection during a 29–13 victory at the Denver Broncos. On December 6, 2015, Sorensen made combined tackles and his first career sack on quarterback Derek Carr in the Chiefs' 34–20 victory at the Oakland Raiders in Week 13. He finished the season with 23 combined tackles (20 solo), two pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and zero starts.
The Kansas City Chiefs finished second in the AFC West with an 11–5 record. On January 9, 2016, Sorensen appeared in his first career playoff game as the Chiefs routed the Houston Texans 30–0 in the AFC Wildcard Game. The following week, he made one tackle in during a 27–20 loss at the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional round.
2016
During OTA's and training camp, Sorensen competed for a role as a backup safety against Jamell Fleming, Eric Murray, Shakiel Randolph, Stevie Brown, and Akeem Davis. Head coach Andy Reid named him the backup strong safety behind Eric Berry to begin the regular season in 2016.