Mario Manningham agrees to two-year deal with 49ers
The Giants likely won't be able to afford Mario Manningham next season. (undated file photo) Credit: Getty Images
Mario Manningham is going from one coast to the other. He could be going from one Manning to the other as well.
The wide receiver became the first member of the team that won Super Bowl XLVI to officially become an ex-Giant and agree to terms with another team. On Saturday, Manningham agreed to a two-year deal with the 49ers, the team he helped to beat in the NFC Championship Game. It also is the team he visited this past week and the team that has most recently emerged as a suitor for the services of free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning.
Manningham spent four years with the Giants, but his greatest moment with them also was one of his last. He made an astounding 38-yard catch along the sideline in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI to spark the game-winning drive against the Patriots.
Manningham had said in recent interviews that he believed he would become a free agent and leave the Giants. He also said that although it would be difficult to leave his relationship with Eli Manning, there are "other great quarterbacks out there."
The 49ers do not have a great quarterback -- yet. If they sign Peyton Manning, they certainly will, and the combination of their passing potential, the running of Frank Gore and the San Francisco defense would make the 49ers one of the favorites to win the NFC title.
Manningham was a third-round pick of the Giants in 2008 out of Michigan (the same school 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh played for). He was considered to have first-round abilities but slipped in the draft after he admitted to using and testing positive for marijuana.
His best statistical season with the Giants was 2010, when he had 60 catches for 944 yards and nine touchdowns. In 2011, he battled a nagging knee injury and saw diminished playing time with the emergence of Victor Cruz, but Manningham still managed 39 receptions for 523 yards in 12 games.
In the playoffs, he had 13 receptions for 189 yards and three touchdowns, including one against the 49ers.
Manningham's departure, while expected, leaves the Giants with a gap in their receiving corps. They already have signed free-agent-to-be Domenik Hixon, who is coming off a second ACL surgery in two years, and have unproven players such as second-year receiver Jerrel Jernigan and fourth-year receiver Ramses Barden. Those players plus others are expected to compete for the No. 3 receiver job next season.
The Giants are scheduled to face the 49ers at Candlestick Park at some point in the 2012 season.
Manningham visited the 49ers on Thursday and left without a contract, although both sides reinforced the idea that they still could reach an agreement. He visited with the Rams this weekend before agreeing with the 49ers.
More Giants
