Shawne Merriman!

[Fritz]

He's young at 28. I think he lands somewhere at, or near, the vet minimum. The Bills had to cut him, for some reason they gave him a big contract (scheduled to make $4million this year) when it didn't seem anyone else was even going to sign him! There's also the problem that the Bills went to a 4-3 this year, leaving him without a position, they were trying to make a DE out of him.

He was hurt the last two years, but if he passes a physical he should land somewhere. Don't see it being here, but who knows. As far as seeing what other players have instead of looking at him, he's got a lot of potential if he can stay healthy

Shawn e Merriman couldn't sack a bag of groceries. He couldn't sack my nuts. He couldn't
couldn't play the sacksaphone.

[Iron Mike]

Shawn e Merriman couldn't sack a bag of groceries. He couldn't sack my nuts. He couldn't
couldn't play the sacksaphone.

The only sack he'll get close to is hauling sacks of dirt at Home Depot....

[Iron Mike]

8 more posts and I'm at 10,000

You could probably knock those out in about 10 minutes...

[ThunderDan]

I'm sorry, a guy who is off PEDS (so he doesn't have the strength he use to) and has knee and leg issues (no longer has the speed he once had) is not worth bringing in.

[Zool]

2 page thread on a guy who's been less than pedestrian in the last 4 years. The guy will cost $4mil if someone brings him in before the first game of the season. He's probably not getting even a sniff until after that.

[rbaloha1]

I'm not sure your examples are very relevant.

There is a difference between the release of an aging veteran who is a former dominant player but has been ineffective for 4 years, and the release of a young player who has not yet emerged or proven himself (Williams, Kuhn, etc.)

The situation of Merriman being cut in the middle of training camp, two weeks before a cut down date, at a time when teams can carry 90 players, is very different than cutdowns to meet 53 man player limits before and during the season, particularly when there is a conflict of sorts between the player and team. (Green, Rison, etc.)

There is a huge difference between a player a team gives up on in the middle of camp, and one who becomes a free agent because his contract has expired (Jenkins, Wilkerson, etc.)

Everything about the Merriman situation screams that his career is done. Injuries have made his last four years virtually nonexistent. His performance has been minimal even when he has played. The Bills need players, yet they gave up on him well in advance of the first cut down date.

To bring Merriman in, someone needs to be released. Frankly, I am more interested in seeing what the young unknowns have than looking at Merriman.

Jenkins and Wilkerson were both cut by teams. (no expiring contracts) The Packers signed them and both players were integral players on super bowl teams.

The point is just because a player is cut does not mean he is no longer effective. The league is full of examples.

With that said too many board members were basing Merriman current situation on getting cut and stats.

I am asking to go beyond that methodology and provide an evaluation based on current play. Is being cut due to character issues?

[Upnorth]

If we could evaluate him with out any cap issues and if we have a throw away player on the 90 list then why not. If he would impact the cap poorly then he is not worth the gamble.

[Spaulding]

Okay, just finished trolling some of the Buffalo Bills forums for fan input as well sites such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, etc. and the action to release Merriman appears to stem from the following:

1) Buffalo DL depth after signing of free agents (Mario Williams and Mark Anderson) and emergence of Chris Kelsay and Kyle Moore
2) Switch from 3-4 to 4-3 scheme
3) Salary

Per Merriman and quotes from head coach Chan Gailey, Merriman is in the best shape he's been in and everyone was optimistic he'd return to the form of old. So far through two preseason games though he's pretty invisible and thus the Bills have decided to cut him and go with their prized FA aquisitions and younger players.

I don't see how any team would sign him at his current salary with all the associated risks. I do however expect some team to take a flyer on him for the vets minimum just to see if he can relive his glory days if truly healthy and in great shape. Although much of his NFL performance has been attributed to PED's, given that he was a high draft choice has it even been confirmed that he was an abuser in college too? If not, then there is hope for him yet if over the achilles injury that has plagued him these past two years.

As for the Pack, if we hadn't drafted Perry I could see them having some interest but as things currently stand, I don't see the Packers going after and older injury prone player. Then again I didn't think I'd see the day that the Packers would sign Benson so who knows.

[ThunderDan]

Jenkins and Wilkerson were both cut by teams. (no expiring contracts) The Packers signed them and both players were integral players on super bowl teams.

The point is just because a player is cut does not mean he is no longer effective. The league is full of examples.

With that said too many board members were basing Merriman current situation on getting cut and stats.

I am asking to go beyond that methodology and provide an evaluation based on current play. Is being cut due to character issues?

Let's see if any of our PackerRat members has been to the Buffalo training camp. I am guessing not but you never know. Why don't you go find some articles on the situation and link to them showing Merriman could be a positive impact on some teams roster for 2012?

Not being an ass but I think that is the best we are going to find on Merriman so far this year.

[ThunderDan]

Okay, just finished trolling some of the Buffalo Bills forums for fan input as well sites such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, etc. and the action to release Merriman appears to stem from the following:

1) Buffalo DL depth after signing of free agents (Mario Williams and Mark Anderson) and emergence of Chris Kelsay and Kyle Moore
2) Switch from 3-4 to 4-3 scheme
3) Salary

Per Merriman and quotes from head coach Chan Gailey, Merriman is in the best shape he's been in and everyone was optimistic he'd return to the form of old. So far through two preseason games though he's pretty invisible and thus the Bills have decided to cut him and go with their prized FA aquisitions and younger players.

I don't see how any team would sign him at his current salary with all the associated risks. I do however expect some team to take a flyer on him for the vets minimum just to see if he can relive his glory days if truly healthy and in great shape. Although much of his NFL performance has been attributed to PED's, given that he was a high draft choice has it even been confirmed that he was an abuser in college too? If not, then there is hope for him yet if over the achilles injury that has plagued him these past two years.

As for the Pack, if we hadn't drafted Perry I could see them having some interest but as things currently stand, I don't see the Packers going after and older injury prone player. Then again I didn't think I'd see the day that the Packers would sign Benson so who knows.

Thanks Spaulding for doing the research.

[rbaloha1]

Okay, just finished trolling some of the Buffalo Bills forums for fan input as well sites such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, etc. and the action to release Merriman appears to stem from the following:

1) Buffalo DL depth after signing of free agents (Mario Williams and Mark Anderson) and emergence of Chris Kelsay and Kyle Moore
2) Switch from 3-4 to 4-3 scheme
3) Salary

Per Merriman and quotes from head coach Chan Gailey, Merriman is in the best shape he's been in and everyone was optimistic he'd return to the form of old. So far through two preseason games though he's pretty invisible and thus the Bills have decided to cut him and go with their prized FA aquisitions and younger players.

I don't see how any team would sign him at his current salary with all the associated risks. I do however expect some team to take a flyer on him for the vets minimum just to see if he can relive his glory days if truly healthy and in great shape. Although much of his NFL performance has been attributed to PED's, given that he was a high draft choice has it even been confirmed that he was an abuser in college too? If not, then there is hope for him yet if over the achilles injury that has plagued him these past two years.

As for the Pack, if we hadn't drafted Perry I could see them having some interest but as things currently stand, I don't see the Packers going after and older injury prone player. Then again I didn't think I'd see the day that the Packers would sign Benson so who knows.

Good post. Worth signing for no guaranteed money and slightly above the veteran minimum. Appears SM was cut due to new scheme and salary.

[Patler]

Jenkins and Wilkerson were both cut by teams. (no expiring contracts) The Packers signed them and both players were integral players on super bowl teams.

The point is just because a player is cut does not mean he is no longer effective. The league is full of examples.

With that said too many board members were basing Merriman current situation on getting cut and stats.

I am asking to go beyond that methodology and provide an evaluation based on current play. Is being cut due to character issues?

Provide an evaluation based on current play? What current play? That's the whole point. The guy has barely played since 2007.

I assumed you were referring to Cullen Jenkins' signing with the Eagles. If you are referring to his originally coming to GB, he was signed by the Packers directly out of college as an undrafted free agent. He was cut in camp, was out of football for a season, then signed by the Packers again the next off season. With that scenario he was an unproven rookie, not unlike Tramon Williams. Still not very similar at all to the Merriman situation.

Wilkerson had been a free agent the year before and you are correct he was released the next year. That was back in the days when there was an abundance of salary cap casualties to pick from as teams (other than Green Bay and a few others) struggled to figure out how to manage the salary cap. Some teams would release pro bowl players just to get under the salary cap. These would occur when the new year (and new cap) started, or in early May when the "hit" could be spread over two years, and space was needed to sign the rookies. Again, not very similar to Merriman, who was already within the Bills' cap for the off season.

Look, I get your point; but you seem unwilling to recognize that Merriman has not been the player he was for the last four years. He has had 5 sacks in the last 4 years, partly due to injury after injury limiting his playing time, but also due to limited effectiveness in the few games he did play.

This is not a player having had a bad year, or even two; it is four bad years. It is not a player having had a bad injury and a slow recovery; it has been a string of injuries. The last time Shawne Merriman played like Shawne Merriman was in 2007. He has had knee, ankle and foot problems that have knocked him out. Last I believe was an achilles injury.

He was outstanding in 2005, 2006 & 2007. Nothing since then. I'll turn your question around. Based on the last 5 years, what makes you think he has any hope of returning to anything remotely close to what he was 5 years ago? When was the last time a player came back 5 years later, after 4 injury-filled nondescript seasons?

If he is willing, I'm sure someone will sign him to a minimum contract. Pro sports is filled with examples of players who were brief stars getting chance after chance after chance. It will probably happen again for Merriman, too. I don't expect the Packers to waste a bit of time with him.

[Patler]

Good post. Worth signing for no guaranteed money and slightly above the veteran minimum. Appears SM was cut due to new scheme and salary.

If Shawne Merriman was at all close to the Shawne Merriman of old, do you think they would have cut him due to scheme change? I suspect they would have found a way to use him within the scheme, or adjusted the scheme to use him. You don't cut an All-Pro just because the scheme changed, especially with all the variations teams use now anyway.

Apparently they aren't saving much in the salary cap area anyway. He already received a $1 million roster bonus in March, and it has now been reported that $3million of his $4 million 2012 salary is already guaranteed anyway. Apparently it became guaranteed when he was cleared to practice in 2011. If these reports are correct, all they are saving is $1 million. Not peanuts, for sure, but if he was anything close to the Shawne Merriman of old, would they pass on it for the sake of $1 million when they have already paid him about $10 million for virtually no production?

NBC Sports from the end of the 2011 season:

The Bills have paid linebacker Shawne Merriman $6.95 million over the last season and a half for one sack and nine tackles in five games.

Amazingly, Merriman’s contract appears to get worse for the Bills.

According to a January article by Tim Graham (formerly of ESPN.com), Merriman is guaranteed another $3 million in 2012. We’ve seen it written that the Bills had some injury protection for that money, but that no longer appears to be true.
...
Merriman is due $4 million in base salary in 2012 and a $1 million roster bonus next March. We can’t imagine the Bills will give him another chance, so they will basically have to pay him $3 million to go away.

Note: They were assuming the Bills would cut him before the roster bonus was due. They didn't.

[rbaloha1]

I have no idea and neither do you. Based on words you win. BTW Cullen Jenkins was not directly signed by the Packers out of college -- he was signed by another team and cut. The Packers picked him up. Wilkerson was cut during the 1996 season.

The point is being cut is not always due to poor play.

What is wrong with giving the guy a tryout?

[Joemailman]

A waste of time. He hasn't been any good since he had reconstructive knee surgery in 2008.