Linebacker Shawne Merriman is calling it “Lights Out” on his career.
The three-time Pro Bowl selection and 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year said on his website Tuesday night that he intends to file retirement papers because “I want to retire on my own terms and leave while I know I can still physically play the game.”The Buffalo Bills confirmed Merriman’s intentions.After signing a one-year $700,000 contract, Merriman finished last season with 17 tackles and one sack in 10 games, including one start. That was a marked drop-off for a player who became an instant NFL star after being selected by San Diego 12th overall in the 2005 draft.Making a total of 39 1/2 sacks in his first three seasons with the Chargers, Merriman earned the nickname “Lights Out” as one of the league’s fiercest pass rushers. But a series of injuries caught up to him.Briefly • Browns: Mike Lombardi was promoted to general manager of the team less than a month after being named vice president of player personnel. The Browns also hired Ray Farmer as the team’s assistant GM. Farmer had been Kansas City’s director of pro personnel for seven years. Lombardi’s promotion comes a week before the Browns open free agency more than $46 million under the salary cap. • Texans: Defensive end Antonio Smith told Pro Football Talk that if Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o was drafted by Houston, he would be the “butt of every joke” in the locker room. “Our locker room is full of clowns and, oh, man people would kill him. I mean he would be the butt of every joke for at least two, three years.” • Tryout: Former first-round draft pick Vince Young will work out alongside draft prospects at the University of Texas pro day March 26 in an effort to restart his NFL career. Young’s first pro day at Texas came seven years ago. • Chiefs: Defensive end Tyson Jackson, the former LSU player taken with the third pick of the 2009 draft, has restructured his contract, which included a $14.72 million salary and was to count a total of $17.5 million against the 2013 salary cap for 2013, according to ESPN.com. Jackson has five sacks in 59 career games. • Eagles: G.J. Kinne, a former Tulsa quarterback who signed last year with the Jets as a rookie free agent, signed a two-year contract with Philadelphia. The Eagles now have Kinne, Dennis Dixon, Michael Vick and Nick Foles as quarterbacks. • Bills: General manager Buddy Nix hasn’t ruled out the possibility of re-signing guard Andy Levitre, who is eligible to become a free agent on Tuesday, or determined whether to keep quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is due to earn a $3 million bonus this month as part of a six-year, $59 million contract extension. Nix says the team is “still in the process of working on it,” when asked about both players. • Broncos: Linebacker Von Miller says he’s dedicating the season and guaranteeing a Super Bowl win to his 6-year-old cousin who recently emerged from a coma after being in a car accident with his mother and older brother in West Texas. • Vikings: Veteran receiver Michael Jenkins was released, clearing $3.25 million of space under the salary cap. Jenkins played two seasons of the three-year contract he signed with the Vikings after the lockout ended in 2011. He was due a roster bonus of $2.425 million on March 16 and a base salary of $825,000 for 2013. • Jets: Cornerback Darrell Revis was interviewed by Seahawks fullback and aspiring journalist Michael Robinson and said he would welcome the possibility of being traded to San Francisco. “You gotta tip your hat off to them for what they did last year,” Revis said of the 49ers. “... My main goal as a player is to hold that Lombardi Trophy up in the air and wear that ring.” The Jets are reported to be listening to trade offers for Revis.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
