New York Giants’ wide receiver, Mario Manningham, could leave the team – NFL News Update
New York Giants’ wide receiver, Mario Manningham, who was involved in one of the most-talked-about scoring drives during the Super Bowl XLVI, has decided to leave the Giants and said that he is ’75 per cent sure’ about joining any other team during the free
agency.
In an interview, he expressed his desire of moving to any other team, while different reports suggested that the player has some very strong reasons to do so.
Manningham, who started his professional National Football League (NFL) career in 2008 with Giants, is set to become a free agent next month.
The Giants are interested in re-signing him, but according to different reports, the ‘low’ salary cap of the new contract is one of the main reasons behind his motivation for looking at other options.
In his four-year career, Manningham has never been a regular starter for the Giants.
In his rookie year, he played seven games without starting any. The next year, he started 10 while playing 14.
In 2010, he represented the Giants in all the 16 games of the regular season and started eight of them. It was his best season in which he recorded career-best 944 yards and nine touchdowns.
Last year, he came into the limelight during the playoffs where he along with Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, was rated as one of the most threatening trio of wide receivers in the league.
However, it looks as if Manningham does not want to share fame with anyone else. He is looking for a team where he will be the focal point and that cannot happen as long as he is with the Giants.
Sources close to the player have also hinted at Manningham’s desire of playing in a warm weather and Tampa Bay Buccaneers is fast emerging as his next possible destination.
Along with the suitable weather, Manningham will have another advantage with the Bucs.
Giants’ quarterbacks coach, Mike Sullivan, has recently joined the Bucs as the offensive coordinator and if Manningham moves to Tampa Bay, he will not face any difficulties in learning the plays.
Meanwhile, Giants’ general manager, Jerry Reese, refused to spill the beans in this matter and said that he would wait and see how things go in future.
He said of Manningham:
"He's a good football player and obviously players, when free agency comes around for them, they want to make as much money as possible.”
He added:
“So we'll see how it unfolds. But he is a good football player and we're glad he's been a Giant for us and his contributions are outstanding for us. We'll see what happens moving forward with respect to that."
It is still not certain whether Manningham will leave the Giants, but the recent developments have left little room for thinking otherwise.
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