–A freak injury during a special teams drill early in training camp sent safety Daniel Sorensen to injured reserve starting the season, but he said he never had doubts he would return to the club this season.
“(The club) did a great job communicating all of the boundaries and the scope of the injury and the rehab timeline,” Sorensen said. “It didn’t really bother me knowing that I was going to come back.”
Sorensen suffered a tibial plateau fracture in his left leg that required surgery. He returned to practice two weeks ago, and the club activated him from injured reserve on Tuesday. Head coach Andy Reid said he has no estimate for how much playing time Sorensen might see Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
“It’s good to have him back out there, whatever capacity he can go at, it’s good to get him back in there,” Reid said. “We’re looking at it just like you’re looking at it. We’re just seeing where he’s at. He looked good when he was at practice this past week and we felt like he feels good. He’s felt good for a month, that’s what he tells you. He’s going to tell you, he’s wired that way.”
The team’s position group looks much different than it did when Sorensen last worked with the team. Eric Berry remains out with a heel injury. The club re-signed veteran Ron Parker and acquired Jordan Lucas in a trade with Miami and signed free agent Josh Shaw. The only constant remaining is third-year veteran Eric Murray, who started in Sorensen’s absence. Sorensen said he’s connecting with his new teammates.
“I’ve been in meetings, been in walk-through, I’ve been here interacting with the players,” Sorensen said. “The only thing that I haven’t done is travel. But home games I’m on the sideline, in the locker room with these guys so I’m well acquainted with all the new faces.”
Sorensen said his biggest expectation for his first game back focuses on taking those first few hits.
“If it is that I get out there, to just get comfortable being back out there, being able to have confidence with contact, something that you can’t simulate with rehab,” Sorensen said. “That’s kind of my goal, to regain some confidence.”
–Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Rosen meet on Sunday when the Chiefs and Cardinals tangle at Arrowhead Stadium, but the two passers already spent time together during the Manning Passing Academy in 2016.
“He was actually my roommate at the Manning Camp when I was going into my junior year and he was going into his sophomore (season),” Mahomes said. “Then I’ve been out to California, I met him with QB coaches stuff out there.”
Mahomes came away impressed with what he saw.
“I know he throws a beautiful ball,” Mahomes said. “Every single time it leaves his hand it’s a perfect spiral. I know he’s a very smart guy, and so I know he’ll have a lot of success in this league.”
During the Manning camp, Mahomes said he saw a love of football in Rosen that convinces him he can make it in the NFL.
“He was a guy that was up with me early, going working with all those kids and just loving the experience,” Mahomes said. “I know that he loves football and loves being able to just go out there and being a quarterback and those are the guys that have success.”
–The Chiefs jump on teams quickly, outscoring their opponents 48-3 after each team’s first possession through nine games of the season. Certainly one key factor in the quick starts: the Chiefs have won the game’s opening coin toss in every game this season.
The Chiefs also won the coin toss in their four preseason games. They haven’t loss a coin toss since their playoff loss to Tennessee in January. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes says it’s a running joke for the team right now.
“I don’t want that pressure on me for sure,” Mahomes said with a smile. “I say it’s one of the most nervous points of the whole game for me right now.”
Head coach Andy Reid called the streak ridiculous.
“You can’t have like a letdown or something off a coin toss,” Reid said during his Wednesday press conference, drawing a round of laughs from reporters.
The Chiefs have deferred their selection to the second half each time. That resulted in the Chiefs starting on defense each game, and they’ve picked up eight stops in nine games on opening drives. Reid said he started choosing to defer his choice to the second half about eight seasons ago.
“The stats sit right there right at the 50/50 thing, but it swayed there just a little bit toward deferring, so I just started doing that,” Reid said. “But for a while there it was the other way.”
For now, the coin toss streak keeps the team laughing, but Reid also wants his team prepared for an eventual loss and changing their opening routine.
“They get a kick out of the thing going on, but at the same time you’ve got be ready if it just happens to go the other way, everybody’s got to be ready to roll,” Reid said.
BY THE NUMBERS: 6,934 — Consecutive snaps played by Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who can reach 7,000 consecutive snaps with 66 offensive plays against Arizona Sunday. Schwartz has played in every game of his NFL career, a streak of 105 games. That leads all current offensive lineman in consecutive games played. Tennessee’s Ben Jones ranks third with 104 games, while Schwartz’s teammate Eric Fisher stands third with 78 straight games.
