1.He won't be a starter in TC, but he will compete with Roth to start (unless they want him to lose weight and go to OLB)
2.He wasn't hugely overweight and out of shape. He was at 290+ because he could not workout after having surgery on the hernia, and I believe they now want him to work on getting a little stronger to play DE in the 3-4
3.Is he ready size wise and strength wise? He was considered by many the best DE against the run. He'll probably take a bit more time to develop than Kendall Langford, not because of talent differential, but Langford has been close to 300 lbs even while at Hampton and has experience at both DE and DT so going to DE in the 3-4 is less of a transition. Merling (if the plan is for him to be a DE) will be learning new techniques. But he will get some time because he can get pressure on the QB
4.He and Henne should be signed by Friday. The negotiations for him and Henne were stalled due to waiting for some CBA issues to be settled.