Steve Maneri (born March 20, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the Houston Texans in 2010. He has played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, New England Patriots and New York Jets.

Early years

Maneri attended Saddle Brook High/Middle School in

Saddle Brook, New Jersey Saddle Brook is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 13,659, reflecting an increase of 504 (+3.8%) from the 13,155 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in t ...

, graduating in 2006. He played varsity

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

for three years, earning all-county honors as well as being named to the Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League Carpenter Division first-team in his junior and senior seasons. Maneri played one season of football as a

, making 36 catches for 607 yards and five touchdowns as a senior, earning ''

Bergen Record ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...

'' second-team All-North

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

honors. He was coached in football at Saddle Brook by NationalUnderclassmen.com and National Underclassmen Combine founder David Schuman.

College career

Following high school, Maneri attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, playing in ten games at tight end as a true freshman in 2006. He had six catches on the season for 61 yards and two touchdowns. He played in 13 games in 2007, starting three. In 2008, as a junior, Maneri started 9 of 12 games, recording 14 receptions for 150 yards and four touchdowns. In his senior season in 2009, Maneri started all 13 games at tight end, finishing the season with 12 receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns, earning third-team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

honors.

Professional career

Houston Texans

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the 2010 NFL Draft, Maneri signed with the Houston Texans as an offensive tackle. He was waived by the team during final cuts on September 4, 2010.

New England Patriots

Maneri was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots on September 5, 2010. He was waived on September 27, 2010, after being inactive for the first three games of the season. He was then re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 29. He was re-signed to a future contract for the 2011 season on January 20, 2011. He was waived on September 4.

Kansas City Chiefs

On September 5, he was claimed off waivers by the

. During the 2012 offseason, his position was changed to Tight End.

Chicago Bears

On March 21, 2013, Maneri signed a two-year deal with the

. On October 21, the Bears released Maneri to make room for

Jordan Palmer Jordan William Palmer (born May 30, 1984) is a former American football quarterback and the current director of quarterback development for the XFL. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played ...

after

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

's injury.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Maneri signed with the

on February 14, 2014. He was released by the Buccaneers on May 12, 2014.

Second stint with Patriots

Maneri re-signed with the New England Patriots on August 10, 2014. He was released on August 30 during final cuts. On December 17, 2014, the Patriots announced that they re-signed Maneri to the 53-man roster. On January 17, 2015, the Patriots waived him.

New York Jets

Maneri was signed by the New York Jets on June 15, 2015 after

Zach Sudfeld Zachary Jonathan Pagett Sudfeld (born April 17, 1989) is a former American football tight end. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at Nevada. Early years Sudfeld attended Mode ...

suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in minicamp.

References

External links

New England Patriots bioTemple Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maneri, Steve 1988 births Living people People from Saddle Brook, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey American football offensive tackles American football tight ends Temple Owls football players Houston Texans players New England Patriots players Kansas City Chiefs players Chicago Bears players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Jets players