Shawne Merriman is back for his second go-round with the Bills. Will this time be better for him? (US Presswire)

At the very least, Shawne Merriman won’t have to worry about another sunburn anytime soon.

That should be more than fine with him.

Merriman returned to practice Wednesday in cloudy Orchard Park and spoke with reporters for the first time since re-signing with the Buffalo Bills. He sported a fresh sunburn on his face -- Merriman didn’t know he could burn until a post-workout rest at a Miami beach proved otherwise -- but he’s glad to get back to work after missing out on the first six weeks of the season. Merriman was released by the Bills on Aug. 20 in a surprise move but was re-signed on Monday due to injuries along the defensive line.

“I’m excited, man,” Merriman said. “You know, just being back on the field with these guys and not having to text them every week after games and just seeing how everybody was doing. I’m definitely glad and happy to be back on the Bills.”

The start of the season wasn’t easy for the 28-year-old, who was forced to watch games on Sunday from the comfort of his own couch. When healthy, Merriman has been a difference-maker in the NFL -- his 39.5 sacks from 2005-07 was the most by any player in the league over that time -- but he’s had trouble regaining that form due to injuries in recent years. Merriman has just 15 tackles and one sack over the past two years.

He remains firm in his belief that he can still be a player at the NFL level.

“It was little different for me because I’ve always been a player in this league when I was healthy, of course,” Merriman said. “And to go through that transition where you’re kind of waiting for a guy to go down, not just here but all across the league or based on team needs, everybody that I talked to during my time off, nobody felt I couldn’t play any more. That wasn’t a question. It was more of team needs and who they have available to come in and play right now and that type of thing. So I’m just excited to be back.”

Contrary to what Merriman said on Twitter earlier this month, he feels he can contribute as a DE with the Bills. On Oct. 8, he had a curious response to a tweet from a fan saying the Bills should have originally kept him on the roster. His response then: “No they shouldn't have i'm not a defensive end in this league.” On Wednesday, Merriman had a different answer when asked about the Tweet.

“Of course, I played (outside) linebacker my entire life,” Merriman said. “But when you’re a football player, you’re a football player. You can put your hand in the dirt, you can stand up and obviously if these guys didn’t think I could play D-end they wouldn’t have brought me back. So I’m happy to not only contribute but kind of just pick up where I left off and do what I need to do.”

Coach Chan Gailey said Merriman would probably be active in his first game back with the Bills on Sunday against Tennessee. Merriman is currently the team’s fourth DE on the depth chart with starter Mark Anderson (knee) injured.

“As long as he’s in playing shape and everything goes well this week and he gets back into the flow of things, like I said, he’s probably going to be right there Sunday afternoon giving us some help,” Gailey said.

For more updates on the Bills, follow correspondent Mark Ludwiczak on Twitter @CBSBills and @MarkLud12.