New York Giants WR Mario Manningham Will Get Paid After Super Bowl XLVI Clutch Catch, But Buyers Beware
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
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| NewYorkGiants.com |
Senior Writer
During Super Bowl XLVI's game-winning drive, New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham proved he could catch a football with minimal space in the clutch.
As a result, he is looking down the barrel of a fully loaded checkbook with a lot of zeroes.
The former 2008 third-round draft pick is set to become a free agent but has never been considered more than a No. 2 or No. 3 WR option in the NFL. He would bring starting experience and speed to any WR-needy team who is hurting at the position.
Manningham has started 28 regular season games in his four years in the NFL, but he has been hampered with small injuries throughout.
In 2010 he was injury-free, the only season in his professional career where he played in all 16 games. He finished with 60 catches for 944 yards and nine touchdowns, solid season stats for any starting WR in this league.
He has potential to be a starter and has shown flashes of this in his career, but buyer beware. If he was the caliber of player who could become a big-time starter in the NFL, he would have been drafted higher than the third round and been able to beat out Victor Cruz to retain his starting spot at the beginning of the 2011 season. This isn't to say players don't develop and improve themselves over time—exactly like what happened to Cruz—but there is also the issue of an injury history that will follow Manningham.
Manningham would like to stay with the Giants, but having the chance to be a full-time starter and the opportunity to have an expanded role in another team's offense could influence Manningham's decision to re-sign or test the free agency waters.
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More stories on the New York Giants:
Super Bowl XLVI: Eli Manning, New York Giants Defeat New England Patriots with More Fourth Quarter Heroics
Cleveland Browns Rumors: WR Mario Manningham Coming to Northeast Ohio?
