Once again, a Super Bowl hero is departing the New York Giants.
Like fellow wide receiver David Tyree in 2008, Mario Manningham won't be back in New York next season after signing a two-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers, ProFootballTalk.com reported Saturday night. Manningham joins Randy Moss as the 49ers' top free agent acquisitions thus far, bolstering a receiver corps that already includes Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis.
PFT also reported Manningham had been in contract negotiations with the St. Louis Rams before signing with San Francisco.
In his four seasons with the Giants, Manningham caught 160 passes for 2,315 yards and 18 touchdowns. His finest year was 2010, when he appeared in all 16 games, started eight and caught 60 passes for 944 yards and nine touchdowns.
But between a knee injury (Manningham was limited to 10 starts in 12 games this season) and the emergence of Victor Cruz as the Giants' leading receiver, Manningham slid into a diminished role. That changed, of course, in Super Bowl XLVI, when Manningham hauled in a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch for a 38-yard gain on the Giants' final drive of the game.
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