BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Veteran backup running back Anthony Thomas
was one of three Buffalo Bills players to have their contracts
terminated by the team on Wednesday.
A seven-year NFL veteran and the league's rookie of the year in
2001, Thomas' numbers dwindled this season. Used mostly as a backup
behind rookie first-round draft pick Marshawn Lynch, Thomas
finished with career-lows in carries, 36, and yards-rushing, 89,
last season.
He also missed the final five games after tearing a calf muscle
in a 36-14 loss at Jacksonville on Nov. 25. In his second year with
the Bills, Thomas did have 15 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown,
his first receiving in his NFL career.
The move did not come as a surprise, because the Bills are
stocked at running back. Fred Jackson had a strong finish after
Thomas was hurt, while the Bills also selected Dwayne Wright in the
fourth round of last year's draft.
Linebacker Coy Wire and cornerback Jerametrius Butler also had
their contracts terminated. The Bills also waived offensive guard
Aaron Merz, a 2006 second-round draft pick, who missed the entire
season with a shoulder injury.
The moves came prior to the start of the NFL free-agency period,
which opens Friday.
Wire, selected in the third-round of the 2002 draft, had a solid
jack-of-all trades tenure in Buffalo, playing both safety and
linebacker positions, and also used on special teams. He had an
injury-plagued season last year, which ended with him missing the
final five games after sustaining a neck injury, which limited the
feeling in his fingers.
Wire also missed four games early in the season because of a
sprained knee.
Butler signed with the Bills on Sept. 25 to bolster the team's
injury-depleted ranks. He finished with 13 tackles and three passes
defended in seven games before missing five of the final six games
with a calf injury.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)