BY DAN BEGNOCHE
Not much has been a sure thing with Shawne Merriman since he joined the Bills, except maybe seeing his name on the injury list week after week. But according to him, that's about to change.
Following surgery in late October of last year to repair a tear in his Achilles tendon, an injury that has been plaguing him since 2009, Merriman told buffalobills.com that he is “absolutely going to be 100 percent,” and at this point it's just about not overexerting himself.
“Now I get a chance to have a full offseason,” Merriman said. “I had all kinds of restrictions and limitations with things I couldn’t do last year because of my Achilles. Now it’s a different scenario. Now by the time May comes around and runs into June I’ll be at full stride and be able to do everything and work out with my teammates. Starting today and going all the way up to the season it’s a completely different story than I’ve had the past three years.”
Merriman has only played five games with the Bills since his acquisition in 2010, struggling through both his Achilles issues and knee problems. And despite being medically cleared to play, Merriman said he's not quite where he would like to be and knows he still has a ways to go to get back to the player that amassed nearly 40 sacks in his first three years in the league.
“I’m at full speed and I’ll look good running, changing direction and all that stuff," he said. "But that’s not what I’m aiming to do. To be where I want to be and to be dominant and be the player that my guys need me to go out and be this year I have a lot more to go. Me being ready for the season as the player that I want to be is far from where everyone else’s 100 percent is. Yeah I could go out and play football, but where I want to be mentally and physically for my team this year… I’m not there yet.”
A healthy Merriman would be a huge boost to Buffalo's defense, especially given his potential and the Bills' aging squad. And given the statistically weak offensive lines Buffalo is slated to play this season, his return could be a bigger splash than fans are expecting. But for right now, it's baby steps for Merriman.
“Coming off anything you don’t want to push yourself to the point where you back track at all,” he said. "That is going to be up to the trainers; as long as I can go out and function and do everything that the team is doing, I will be happy.”
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