AFC East wire: Let's tidy up a busy day

Wednesday was jammed with so much AFC East news, I wanted to compile a few items that might've gotten overshadowed by bigger stories.

Buffalo Bills

Head coach Chan Gailey classified the leg injury outside linebacker Shawne Merriman sustained as "minor." Gailey hasn't officially ruled him out for Sunday's game against the Lions, but the chances Merriman makes his Bills debut appear slim.

"You've got to realize he hasn't played a lot of football," Gailey said of Merriman. "He hasn't had pads on in a while, all that kind of stuff. You want him out there, but he's not quite ready. We're not going to put him out there till he's ready. That's the No. 1 thing."

Miami Dolphins

The NFL didn't find conclusive evidence to punish Ravens fullback Le'Ron McClain for allegedly spitting in Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder's face.

"You can see it on film," Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel said in a South Florida Sun-Sentinel article. "For them not to take any action, it says it's all right for us to spit on each other. Maybe they'll start something by not fining him for that."

New England Patriots

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady missed Wednesday's practice with a sprained foot, but is expected to play Sunday against the Steelers.

The signing of kicker Shayne Graham isn't intended to be temporary. The Patriots placed Stephen Gostkowski on season-ending injured reserve with a torn quadriceps muscle. The switch is a bad one for New England. Gostkowski was an All-Pro two seasons ago. Graham was on the street after missing two field goals for the Bengals in a first-round playoff loss to the Jets.

New York Jets

Inside linebacker Bart Scott fired another shot at Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, who belittled Scott's claim the Lions are the NFL's dirtiest team. Schwartz said "consider the source."

"Listen, I don't have to play Detroit for another four years," Scott said. "I couldn't care less what that man has to say. Don't even exist to me anymore. Does it really matter? I don't have to see him ever again. Do I have to see him at the Super Bowl? Playoffs? Probably not. In the parking lot? ... We're playing the Browns. I'm not going to oblige him. He'll be watching TV in January."

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/21515/afc-east-wire-lets-tidy-up-a-busy-day

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