Buffalo Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman had been turning heads in camp for all the right reasons, but over the last two days, people are noticing him for all the wrong reasons. Merriman participated in Saturday morning's walk-through, but has been sidelined for the past two days at practice.
"He didn’t feel as good this morning coming back. He was a little sorer than we thought he was going to be, so we left him out one more day," said Bills head coach Chan Gailey. "It’s soreness within that leg, but it’s not dealing with any of (his prior injuries)."
Wide receiver David Nelson was back in the fold after missing Friday's activities while dealing with a respiratory issue in Buffalo. Nelson has a new diagnosis and treatment plan, but isn't sharing the details.
"I spent yesterday doing a lot of tests," Nelson told BuffaloBills.com yesterday. "We went back to Buffalo and did pretty much every test imaginable and we figured out what it was. I definitely didn’t feel 100 percent out there (Saturday). We had to slow down a little bit, but at the same time I’m back out there and it’s going to gradually get back to 100 percent. (Saturday) was a step in the right direction."
The newest major injury in Bills camp happened to second-round pick Aaron Williams. The defensive back injured his hand, and a timetable has not yet been set on his return.
"Aaron hurt his hand and they were going to take him in and tell me tonight or tomorrow morning exactly where he was," said Gailey.
"Don't know bout the injury yet," tweeted Williams last night. "Doesn't seem serious but we'll find out tomorrow."
Other players who missed practice yesterday were WR Donald Jones, TE Shawn Nelson, LB Kelvin Sheppard, DB Justin Rogers, and WR Marcus Easley. Returning to practice after dealing with a toe injury, TE David Martin took his first reps in a few days yesterday.
Jones injured his calf when it was "leg-whipped" on Friday. Sheppard will be re-evaluated early next week, but his original one-to-two-week timeline to return is still in place.
Domonic Cook became the first Buffalo player on injured reserve this season after clearing waivers. An undrafted DB out of the University of Buffalo, Cook's knee injury will keep him sidelined for more than a month.
Practice today begins at 3:30 at St. John Fisher College as the Bills are now less than a week from their first preseason game.