Mario Cashmere Manningham (born May 25, 1986) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

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(NFL). He was an All-American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the third round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. Manningham won

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

with the Giants, defeating the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and catching a crucial 38-yard pass in the final minutes. He also played two seasons with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

College career

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, as a freshman, Manningham recorded 27 receptions for 433 yards and six

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s, including the game-winning touchdown catch as time expired in the game against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

on October 15, handing the Nittany Lions their only loss that season. Manningham finished

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

with a total 38 receptions 703 yards and nine touchdowns. He was named

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Offensive Player of the Week two weeks in a row, first against Notre Dame and then against

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. During the sixth game of the season against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

, Manningham injured his knee and underwent

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

knee surgery on October 10. Manningham made his first game appearance after the injury as a reserve wide receiver on November 4 against Ball State. Manningham had a total of 72 receptions for 1,174 yards and 12 touchdowns in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, and was named a second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. After the 2007 season, Manningham opted to forgo his eligibility for his senior year and entered the

. He finished his career at Michigan with 137 receptions for 2,310 yards and 27 touchdowns. Those marks placed him fifth and fourth all-time in school history in touchdowns and yards.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Manningham had reportedly been removed from "multiple teams'" draft boards due to alleged

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

use in college. Mario denied testing positive initially, then sent a letter to all 32 teams admitting he lied. Manningham claims he failed two

drug tests A drug test (also often toxicology screen or tox screen) is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs o ...

at Michigan. Bob McGinn of the ''

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' reported that Manningham scored a 6 out of 50 on the Wonderlic exam. This along with several other problems caused his draft value to drop.

New York Giants (first stint)

2008 season

Manningham was selected in the third round (95th overall) of the

by the

. During rookie training camp, Manningham noted that he looked forward to playing with fellow former Michigan Wolverine Amani Toomer. Manningham signed a four-year deal worth up to $2.3 million. Manningham made his first reception on October 5, 2008, in a game against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

which the Giants won by a score of 44–6.

2009 season

Manningham worked on his punt return abilities and competed for the punt returner spot in 2009. Manningham kicked off the 2009 season by catching three passes for 58 yards and a touchdown en route to the Giants' 23–17 win over the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He followed this up by catching 10 passes for 150 yards and a juggling sliding catch for a touchdown in the Giants' 33–31 win over the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. Manningham became the starting wide receiver opposite Steve Smith after fellow receiver Domenik Hixon was injured in a Week 2 game against the

2010 season

In the 2010 season, Manningham appeared in all 16 games of the Giants' 10–6 season. In Week 15, against the Philadelphia Eagles, he recorded eight receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns in the 38–31 loss. The next week, he followed up with four receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown in a 45–17 loss to the Green Bay Packers. In the Giants' final game of the 2010 regular season, he recorded four receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown in a 17–14 win over the Washington Redskins. On the season, he recorded 60 receptions for 944 yards and nine touchdowns.

2011 season

Mario Manningham on January 15, 2012, in a game against the Green Bay Packers. In the 2011 regular season, Manningham recorded 39 receptions for 523 yards and four touchdowns. In Weeks 8–10, he recorded a touchdown in three consecutive games. On February 5, 2012, Manningham made a catch in the fourth quarter of

to set up the win against the

. Trailing by 2 points with 3 minutes and 46 seconds remaining, the Giants started the winning drive.

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...

lofted a long pass down the left sideline to Manningham, who kept his feet in-bounds by a fraction of an inch with two defenders around him for a gain of 38 yards. The Giants went on to beat the Patriots by a score of 21–17. Manningham ended the game with 5 catches for 73 yards.

San Francisco 49ers

2012 season

Manningham signed a two-year, $7.375 million contract with the

on March 22, 2012. On September 9, he made his 49ers debut in the season opener against the Green Bay Packers. He had four receptions for 29 yards in the 30–22 victory. On October 7, in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills, he recorded his first touchdown as a 49er, a 10-yard reception from quarterback Alex Smith. On December 23, 2012, he tore his ACL and PCL in his left knee against division rival, the Seattle Seahawks, in a game the 49ers lost 42–13. The next day, the 49ers stated that Manningham would be out for the season. Even without Manningham, the 49ers reached

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

, but lost to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

34–31.

2013 season

On August 27, 2013, the 49ers placed Manningham on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Manningham was activated by the 49ers on November 4, 2013, after recovering from the injury sustained against the Seahawks. After seeing limited duty, Manningham was placed on the injured reserve list on December 27, 2013, ending his season. He finished the 2013 season with nine receptions for 85 yards.

New York Giants (second stint)

On March 18, 2014, Manningham signed a one-year contract to return to the New York Giants. After straining his calf in the last preseason game, he was placed on injured reserve and then released by the Giants.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

*
Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manningham, Mario 1986 births Living people American football wide receivers Michigan Wolverines football players New York Giants players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Warren, Ohio 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Warren G. Harding High School alumni