When talking about defensive lineman Shawne Merriman, the first thing that comes up is all the injuries that he has suffered over the past couple years, but that wasn’t the reason Merriman was released Monday by the Buffalo Bills.
According to Buffalo Bills General Manager Buddy Nix, the reason Merriman was released was purely performance.
“Shawne was battling for the fourth defensive end spot,” Nix said. “We have three guys there that we feel good about. We have a couple of young guys. That is the reason we made the move.”
“The why now is a couple of thing – one, we want to give these two young guys more reps in practice and more playing time in these last two games,” Nix continued. “Two – we want to give Shawne a chance to get a job. Us doing it earlier gives Shawne a better chance to get picked up and locked on to somebody.”
In other words, two younger defensive ends have outplayed Merriman. Just exactly who they are isn’t known as there are other defensive ends vying for the last roster spot.
Of course that didn’t stop some Bills beat writers from doing some sleuthing of their own. According to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News’ Press Coverage Blog, the back up to starting left defensive end Mario Williams is now Robert Eddins with Kyle Moore is listed as the third right defensive end.
However, there are still two preseason games for the Bills, so the last spot is still anybody’s for the taking, and which is why Nix won’t name names.
By Paul Kasprzak
