We are currently in process of doing brief reviews of all of the free agents on the Cleveland Browns. Today we take a look at a veteran safety who has mostly been a special teams contributor the past couple of seasons.
S Nick Sorensen
How and When He Joined the Browns: Part-way through the 2007 season, Sorensen was signed by the Browns as a free agent. He was known as a special teams ace from the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that's really the reason Cleveland brought him aboard. There never seemed to be any intentions of him contributing regularly on defense.
Productivity Level Last Season: He suffered what appeared to be a serious neck injury in the final preseason game last year, but only ended up missing the first week of the season. Sorensen played exactly the way he had the past several years in Cleveland -- he made a good amount of plays on special teams, and was in on defensive plays every so often.
Why Keeping Him Could Make Sense: I know Sorensen has gotten some flak for not being very good on defense in the past, but that isn't why he has been on the roster. He, along with Blake Costanzo and Ray Ventrone, have been a trio that is difficult for opposing teams' kick returners to get past. Maybe the dropoff wouldn't be significant if we let some undrafted free agent with the potential to be better on defense too take his roster spot instead, but I still like having guys like Sorensen who have accepted their role in this league and give 100 percent at it.
What the Browns Should Do: Sorensen spent four years with the Jaguars and has spent four years with the Browns. I hope he doesn't find a new team for the next four years; let's bring him back and keep the same consistency we've have on special teams. If it ends up being a toss up between Costanzo and Sorensen though, I'd take Costanzo in a heartbeat.
Now it's your turn -- vote in the poll below on whether or not the team should try to re-sign Nick Sorensen!