Shawne Merriman Out For The Year With Achillies' Injury

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The Buffalo Bills have reportedly placed outside linebacker Shawne Merriman on injured reserve with an Achilles’ injury. The team has announced that he will miss the rest of the 2011 season.

Merriman, 27, had recorded just one sack and seven tackles in five games for the upstart Buffalo Bills this season.

"Shawne has worked extremely hard, but unfortunately, his Achilles flared back up and it doesn’t appear that he will be able to return to the field anytime soon,” said Bills general manager Buddy Nix in a statement. “So we felt it was in the best interest of our team and for Shawne to put him on I-R.”

The Bills signed Merriman to a two-year, $10.5 million contract this January despite a long history of injuries. Incentives within the contract gave the former All-Pro linebacker the chance to earn as much as $9.25 million per year.