The Giants have released veteran receiver Mario Manningham, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). After signing a one-year deal with New York in March, Manningham was placed on injured reserve when the Giants made their final roster cutdowns in August. However, Manningham’s calf injury was not season-ending, meaning he can now explore joining a team with a need at WR.
Manningham, 28, spent his first three NFL seasons with the Giants after being selected in the third round of the 2008 draft. He is perhaps best known for his sideline catch in the 2012 Super Bowl that helped New York overtake the Patriots in the final minutes of the contest. He played with the 49ers from 2012-13, but was active for just 18 total games during those two seasons. For his career, Manningham has caught 211 balls for 2,849 yards and 19 touchdowns.
As our Luke Adams explained last week, players are cut from injured reserve in one of two ways — the team and player agree to an injury settlement that pays the player until he is fully recovered, or the player attains full health while on IR, and the team is forced to release him or add him to the 53-man roster. It’s unclear which avenue the Giants took with Manningham.
Buccaneers rookie Mike Evans is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, so perhaps Tampa Bay would be interested in adding Manningham. Similarly, the Jets (Eric Decker) and Bears (Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery) have been hit by wideout injuries, and could look to bring in Manningham. Additionally, the Patriots, Browns, and Steelers are among the teams who could be on the lookout for upgrades at receiver.