Per NFL Fanhouse:
Maybe the Buffalo Bills haven’t thrown in the towel on the 2010 season after all.
By putting in a waiver claim Wednesday for embattled linebacker Shawne Merriman and having the league reward him to them, the Bills upgraded their defense and sent a message to their fans that despite being 0-7 they intend on fighting to the finish.
Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com broke down the roster move on the team’s official website Wednesday afternoon, and general manager Buddy Nix provided the answer fans were looking for.
“As we have said many times before, we are constantly evaluating our roster and will do things that we feel can improve our team,” Nix explained. “We think Shawne can help our defense and so we have claimed him off waivers. He has been an impact player in a 3-4 defense and we feel this is a good opportunity to make our team better.”
Buffalo was one of three teams to put in a claim for Merriman, with their AFC East rivals the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being the other two, so the Bills kept another playmaker away from one of their division rivals at the same time. And the fact that Merriman is a proven pass rusher who, while plagued by injuries the past few years, still has enough gas left in the tank to be dangerous.
The Bills have registered just 11 sacks in seven games, which is tied for the third-lowest in the NFL, and seven of those sacks came in the last three games. Linebacker Paul Posluszny missed some time with a leg injury suffered in a season-opening loss to Miami and he was pretty much Buffalo’s primary pass rushing threat. Now he will be paired with Merriman, which will force opposing offenses to alter their game plans.
In order to make room for Merriman on the roster Buffalo placed offensive tackle Cornell Green on injured reserve with a knee injury. Merriman has five days to report to Buffalo, who hosts Chicago on Sunday. If the calf injury that landed him on IR with San Diego has healed, he could make an immediate impact.
