"The Buffalo Bills are hoping former NFL superstar Shawne Merriman can recapture some past glory and breathe some life into one of the weakest positions on their team.

The Bills claimed Merriman off waivers from San Diego on Wednesday in a move that reunites the linebacker with the man who drafted him 12th overall in 2005 -- Bills General Manager Buddy Nix.

"As we have said many times before, we are constantly evaluating our roster and will do things that we feel can improve our team," Nix said in a statement released by the team. "We think Shawne can help our defense, and so we have claimed him off waivers. He has been an impact player in a 3-4 defense, and we feel this is a good opportunity to make our team better."

The Bills don't appear to have much to lose, besides some money, in claiming Merriman. They must pay him the remainder of his salary over the final nine weeks of the season, which amounts to $1.7 million. The cost factor makes the addition somewhat of a surprise, even though the Bills have plenty of money to spend. They're in the neighborhood of $25 million under last year's salary cap in terms of cash spent this year, according to News figures. (There is no salary cap this season.)

Merriman, 26, was one of the top pass rushers in the NFL from 2005 to 2007. However, his career has hit the skids the past 2 1/2 seasons, and he was released by the Chargers on Tuesday. The Bills (0-7) had the first crack at claiming him due to the fact they own the worst record in the NFL. Merriman is not expected to play in the Bills' game against Chicago in Toronto on Sunday.

Merriman missed virtually all of the 2008 season with a major knee injury. He had eschewed offseason surgery that year in the hopes that he could play but managed only to play in the opener. He came back last season but was plagued by nagging injuries and registered four sacks. This season he was slowed by an Achilles injury and a calf injury and made five tackles in limited duty over four games. The Chargers placed him on the injured reserve list with a "minor injury" designation Oct. 13 due to the calf problem. They announced they would cut him once he was healthy."