A first-round pick by the San Diego Chargers. Defensive Rookie of the Year. Multiple Pro Bowl selections.
Fifteen years before pass-rushing powerhouse Joey Bosa joined the Buffalo Bills from the Chargers after a series of lower-body injuries, Shawne Merriman was on the same career trajectory.
Merriman left his mark on the NFL. His short time with the Bills left the biggest mark on him.
Football has often been called a brotherhood. But in Buffalo, Merriman said the locker room and fan culture is an entire family.
“Going out there and playing for the Bills was probably one of the best experiences of my life,” Merriman reflected to Kay Adams on Up and Adams Monday. “I wish every player got a chance to go out there and feel that and see that. Joey is going to see it, and it feels like you’re playing for family. It’s the craziest thing ever.”
Joey Bosa is following in Shawne Merriman’s footsteps, going from the Chargers to #BillsMafia.
“I wish every player got to go out there and feel that. … It feels like you’re playing for family.”@heykayadams | @shawnemerriman | @BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/kGycmAsKK1
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 5, 2025
Merriman was a menace in San Diego, winning the 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year award and leading the NFL with 17.5 sacks in a first-team All-Pro season in 2007. He had 40 sacks over his first three seasons in San Diego before being slowed by knee, foot and calf injuries. Merriman was waived mid-season by the Chargers. He only played 15 games and recorded two sacks in a Bills uniform from 2010-2012, with two Achilles tears leading to his retirement.
Bosa, the No. 3 overall pick in 2016, had four double-digit sack seasons in his first six years with the Los Angeles Chargers. He missed 23 games over the last three seasons with foot, hamstring and toe injuries but still managed five sacks and two forced fumbles to earn his fifth Pro Bowl nod in 2024. After being released by Los Angeles on March 5, Bosa signed with Buffalo a week later. Bosa, 29, has totaled 343 tackles, 72 sacks, 87 tackles for loss and 17 forced fumbles in 107 games over nine seasons.
Merriman thinks Bosa, who has the 10th most sacks in the league since 2016, can thrive in Buffalo. The Bills have prioritized creating a health plan to keep Bosa on the field.
“Those Bills love them Chargers,” Merriman said. “They love experience in that locker room. They’ve got some young guys there, and having Joey there in that system as a leader, everybody is going to be looking up at him and learning from him. I wish him all the best because I think he still has a lot in the tank.”