Bills release DE Merriman
The Bills released defensive end Shawne Merriman, who has battled injuries for the past three seasons.
Merriman was cleared to return to practice in late May and said he was as healthy as he has been since 2008. But he was ineffective transitioning from outside linebacker to defensive end while playing opposite Mario Williams, and cut with one year remaining on the two-year, $10,5 million deal he signed in 2011.
General manager Buddy Nix said Merriman was battling for the fourth defensive end spot as he struggled to make the transition from outside linebacker to defensive end, and the team wanted to make the move now to give him a better opportunity to find a job with another team.
"Let me say this - he can play," Nix said. "He did everything. He has been healthy since OTAs. He had not missed anything. He is very attentive in meetings. He has worked hard at practice and he has played, in spots, really well during the games. He is a hard worker; he has done everything he could do.
"We think we have been patient but there comes a point where we felt like we needed to move on and look down the road. These young guys will get a shot."
Merriman knew in July he was in a make-or-break preseason with Buffalo.
"It is not about talking anymore about what I can do or what happened in the past, or how good things were in the past. You just have to go out and do it," Merriman said when he reported to training camp. "And that is all I have been concentrating on. It is not one of those things I really think about. It is just going out every day and working."
Merriman, 28, had early-season surgery to repair his Achilles' tendon in 2011 and has only one quarterback sack in eight total games the past two seasons. He had 39.5 sacks in his first three seasons in the league with the Chargers.
The Bills signed Williams and Mark Anderson, who had 10 sacks with the Patriots last season. Defensive end Kyle Moore, a fourth-round pick with the Buccaneers in 2009, had passed Merriman on the depth chart.
Nix said the move had nothing to do with injury, as Merriman is at full strength but has yet to regain his former Pro Bowl form.
"We have to go on what we see and we have to try and make the best decision for the Bills," Nix said.
