Report: Juan Thornhill will start against Washington

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, third-year Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill will get the start over Daniel Sorensen in Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team.

Already a lightning rod for criticism for a Chiefs defense that has led the league in points allowed this season, Sorensen, 31, received even more scrutiny after giving up two long passes in last Sunday’s 38-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills — one of them a 53-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox.

According to Pro Football Reference, he also missed two tackles during the game, which brought his 2021 total to nine. That ranks second in the league behind Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Alex Singleton — who has 11 — although Sorensen’s missed tackle rate currently stands at 20.5%, which ranks better than 30 other NFL players, including the Minnesota Vikings’ Bashuad Breeland and Patrick Peterson, the Arizona Cardinals’ J.J. Watt and Kansas City’s Ben Niemann.

During his 2019 rookie season, Thornhill won the starting job over Sorensen, but suffered a torn ACL during the season’s final game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Although he returned to play in 2020, Thornhill never regained the starting spot — until now.