Buffalo Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman announced Tuesday night on his website that he plans to file retirement papers and end his NFL career after eight seasons in the league.
“I retire today not because I don’t feel I can go out there and still play the game at a very high level,” Merriman wrote. “I am retiring because I want to retire on my own terms and leave while I know I can still physically play the game.”
The Bills later confirmed Merriman’s intentions on their website and through a text message to Yahoo! Sports.
Merriman, who is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, announced his decision a week before he was scheduled to enter the free agent market. The hard-hitting linebacker has spent his last three seasons with the Bills, but was cut by the team in August only to be re-signed to bolster an injury-riddled defense.
The 28-year-old Merriman went unsigned for the first six weeks of the 2012 season, which he said surprised him. When he finally returned to the Bills, he took a considerable slash in pay, signing a one-year, $700,000 contract. He finished the season with 17 tackles and one sack in 10 games. He only started one game with the Bills last season.
Merriman has seen his numbers drop significantly since being drafted by the San Diego Chargers with the 12th overall pick in the 2005 draft. In his first three seasons with the Chargers he amassed 39 1/2 sacks, which earned him the name “Lights Out” for being one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers.
The Chargers eventually waived Merriman in 2010 when a sore right Achilles tendon hampered him.
Merriman played in only 18 games over the final three season, finishing with 45 1/2 career sacks in 75 games, including 59 starts.
”I feel truly blessed to have been part of the NFL, and to have had the opportunity of a lifetime,” Merriman wrote. ”I will continue to train with some of the guys not because of football, but it’s part of my lifestyle.”
