When Shawne Merriman said he was going to play the season on two torn ligaments, with doctors telling him the injury could become career-threatening, I was shocked, but not super shocked. Merriman, after all, is your typical meat-head idiot.

But he’s proving that his decision making is almost as amazing as his pass rush, deciding to forego the season and get surgery done.

“Shawne informed me he did not feel right [on the field] and thought it best to shut it down,” Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said. “The road to winning the AFC West just got more difficult, but not impossible. Nothing is impossible. Shawne is a great player and an inspirational leader. He will be missed. We wish him a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.”

I’m not sure what San Diego will do without him. Had it not been for his stellar play on Sunday, the Chargers would have lost to the Panthers.

Wait. That came out wrong. Well, he’ll be missed.