Down to just three defensive ends for the foreseeable future the Bills brought a veteran pass rusher back that they released as the end of training camp. Shawne Merriman was re-signed by the club on Tuesday to provide competent depth to the position.
Merriman will help to fill the void left by Mark Anderson, who had knee surgery last week, and could miss anywhere from three to nine weeks.
"You can never have too many guys that we believe can rush the passer," said head coach Chan Gailey. "With Mark being out and Spencer (Johnson), who was kind of our swing guy being out we can't go into a game with just three defensive ends. So we signed Shawne back and hopefully he gives us some pass rush off the edge."
The former three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher spent the past two seasons with the Bills appearing in five games, and had offseason Achilles surgery this past winter. Unfortunately for Merriman his trademark burst had yet to fully return during training camp and the preseason and Buffalo released him on Aug. 20th.
Veteran end Chris Kelsay was glad to have a familiar player added back to the fold.
"Shawne sat in the last part of our Monday meeting," said Kelsay. "It's good to have him back. It's always nice when you can bring a guy back that's acquainted and comfortable with the scheme and system we're in. He'll help with depth and keeping guys fresh. He knows what's expected and can pick right up where he left off."
Merriman is expected to be a rotational defensive end for Buffalo along with Kyle Moore, who capably filled the pass rush void left by Anderson this past week.
"We had Kyle come and play in the place of Mark Anderson and he did a really nice job," said Gailey. "He's a pass rusher. He's got some work to do on the run game, but as a pass rusher he's got a little quickness off the edge and we've got to keep working to find ways to pressure the passer."
To make room on the roster for Merriman the Bills released DT Jay Ross. The club also released OL David Snow. Ross and Snow had previously been on Buffalo's practice squad before being called up for last week's game against Arizona.
