He was hampered by injuries his next three seasons, and the Chargers waived Merriman midseason in He was picked up through waivers by the Buffalo Bills that season, but he only played minimally with the Bills due to continued injuries. He was released by the Bills before the season however, they re-signed him midseason. He retired at the end of the season. Merriman grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
He earned his nickname "Lights Out" at Frederick Douglass High School , where he rendered four opposing players unconscious in one game, three in the first half and one in the second half. Merriman started three years on both the varsity football and basketball teams. On the hardwood, Merriman was named one of the top five basketball defenders in the D. For his football performance during his senior year, he was selected to the first team all-state and named Maryland Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.
Despite being heavily recruited, Merriman stayed in-state for college and attended the University of Maryland , where he played for the Maryland Terrapins football team. During his freshman campaign in , Merriman appeared in 13 games and finished third on the team with 5 sacks. He battled injuries for the bulk of his sophomore season, but never missed a game. He broke onto the national scene his junior year, in which he was named to the ACC All-Conference team and earned the Iron Terp award for the "strongest pound for pound player" on the Maryland football roster.
His The Giants traded Philip Rivers selected 4th overall in the Draft , and their 1st round selection for the following year amongst others for the rights to sign Eli Manning , who had been selected by the San Diego Chargers with the 1st overall pick that year. Manning had made it clear he was not interested in playing for the Chargers, in a similar fashion to John Elway in when selected by the Baltimore Colts. The Chargers used that selection to take Merriman. Merriman started off his rookie year on the inactive list and completed a day hold out from training camp.
He did not break the starting lineup until week 7, but recorded 6 sacks in his first 4 starts. He was voted into the Pro Bowl as an OLB after playing the position for the San Diego Chargers in their 3—4 defensive scheme which is the same position he played at the University of Maryland.
