Chiefs activate S Daniel Sorensen, waive LB Nate Orchard

We have been waiting a very, very long time to hear a safety is back in the lineup for the Kansas City Chiefs. No, not that safety.

Dirty Dan is back, baby!

The Chiefs announced Tuesday morning that safety Daniel Sorensen has been activated, via the team’s official Twitter account. The Chiefs waived outside linebacker Nate Orchard in the process.

Sorensen, 28, has been a member of the Chiefs since 2014, when the team signed him as an undrafted free agent. Similar in a sense to Eric Berry, Sorensen was due to be one of the Chiefs’ starting safeties this season before injury struck in training camp.

The Chiefs called the injury a tibial plateau fracture in his left knee, which was repaired through surgery in early August. The Chiefs placed Sorensen on injured reserve and he missed the first half of the season, returning to practice on October 24.

Now it can be presumed Sorensen is ready to go. The starters at safety for the Chiefs have recently been Ron Parker and Eric Murray, so how Sorensen fits into the mix with Jordan Lucas also playing well will be a point to watch.

In a corresponding move, the Chiefs released Orchard, who apparently did not show enough in his short time with the Chiefs to keep a roster spot. I think the transaction to move on from Orchard probably means good things for Justin Houston, who was questionable to play against the Browns before being ruled out on game day.

As for now, Josh Shaw remains in the mix for the Chiefs at cornerback and safety, but don’t be surprised if that changes once Berry is ready to play and the Chiefs have another player eligible to return from injured reserve.

Remember, with Sorensen’s activation from IR, the Chiefs have one more to play with.

In his four-year career, Sorensen has compiled 165 tackles (133 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 14 passes defensed, four interceptions, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one touchdown.