Daniel Sorensen eligible to return to the lineup this week

Kansas City Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen is eligible to return from injured reserve to the lineup against the Cleveland Browns this Sunday now that the first eight weeks of the season have passed.

Keep in mind that doesn’t necessarily mean he will—Sorensen began practicing last week, but the Chiefs still have another two weeks to decide whether to activate him or return him to injured reserve. Chiefs head trainer (and vice president) Rick Burkholder actually called Sorensen’s return a “trial session” and “rehab period.

“It’s great to have him back,” defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said last Thursday. “I know its been a long, long haul for Dan, and Dan’s one of these guys on your team that probably doesn’t get as much recognition as he deserves because he does a lot of jobs for us and allows us a lot of flexibility on defense. He was our top blitzer, he can play down in the box, he can play back if we wanted to change the matchups and so that was like having two players (return)—kind of, if you could picture it, so I’m excited that one, he’s getting a chance to get back and see how it goes.”

The three days of practice went well, according to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on Friday.

“He did a nice job,” Reid said. “Probably a little better than I anticipated, but it’s still going to take some time. We will just let him continue to work into it and see how he does here in the next couple of days after the work load he’s had. He actually moved around pretty good.”

Linebacker Reggie Ragland loved seeing Sorensen back out on the practice field.

“He’s one of the guys that are the heart and soul of this team,” Ragland said Friday. “Seeing him out there, running around doing what he do, I’m excited for him to get out there and really start balling with us. I’m excited because it’s going to take a lot of pressure in the back end off too, because he’s one of the vet guys that know everything that’s going on.”

Ragland added that Sorensen’s just the first step to a complete Chiefs defensive lineup.

“Especially when we get 2-9 (Eric Berry) back, it’s really going to be a problem,” Ragland said. “I’m excited for when we get everybody back healthy on this defense. It’s going to get hectic out here. In my personal opinion, it’s going to get hectic.”

We should get a bit more clarity on Sorensen’s immediate future from Reid on Wednesday. In 56 games and 15 starts for the Chiefs, Sorensen has 165 combined tackles, four interceptions, 14 passes defensed, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one touchdown.