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. He 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. Merriman 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.
Merriman was hopeful he’d rebound after having a full offseason to train.
“The offseason workouts, the minicamps and OTAs really got that out of me a lot,” he said about being concerned about his injury history. “To be able to work out fully for the first time in years and practice every day and not miss a beat. … Repetition is how you do it. And I had enough reps to kind of get that behind me.”