Merriman leaves first practice with Buffalo Bills with an injury
Buffalo Bills' newly acquired linebacker Shawne Merriman left practice early on Wednesday 10 November, making his status for Buffalo's upcoming game against the Detroit Lions unknown.
The Bills had only recently acquired Merriman, also known as "Lights Out", after he had been released by the San Diego Chargers where he had spent just over five seasons. Wednesday's practice, in which Merriman only took part for about 10 minutes, was his
first practice with the team.
Merriman's career has been plagued by a series of injuries and, although Bills head coach Chan Gailey said that Merriman's most recent injury was not "anything major", it is still just another setback for the injury-plagued star and a team that has seemed
to have absolutely nothing go right for it this season.
Merriman missed most of the 2008 season while having reconstructive surgery on his knee and has been bothered recently by a sore calf in his left leg and a problem with his right Achilles tendon.
Although Gailey admitted to being disappointed by the injury, he also suggested that he was not altogether surprised by what happened given that Merriman hadn't practised in nearly a month.
"What happens is everyone gets their expectations so high, but you've got to realize he hasn't played a lot of football," Gailey said about Merriman who recently passed a physical clearing him to practice with the team. "He hasn't had pads on in a while,
all that kind of stuff. You want him out there, but he's not ready. We're not going to put him out there until he's ready. That's the number one thing."
The Bills are currently the worst team in the NFL and the only team in the league to have yet to win a game. If Merriman can somehow get back to the kind of form he showed early in his career, it will help the Bills a great deal in taking away at least some
positives from an otherwise abysmal season.
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