San Francisco 49ers Activate Mario Manningham, Eric Wright; Nnamdi Asomugha Waived
By Phil Watson
September 16, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mario Manningham (82) runs with the ball against the Detroit Lions during the first quarter at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco 49ers got a bit healthier at wide receiver on Monday when Mario Manningham was activated from the physically unable to perform list.
Manningham hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in a loss at Seattle last December. According to the Associated Press, Manningham will be available when the 49ers return from the bye week on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
The 49ers also activated cornerback Eric Wright from the reserve/non-football injury list and waived former Oakland Raiders All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
Manningham has been practicing for a couple of weeks now and has been working regularly with the first-team offense. The team had until Tuesday to decide whether to add him to the 53-man roster from the PUP list.
“Mario looks good,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said while the 49ers were in London two weeks ago. “Mario’s a guy that’s got really, really good understanding of football. He’s a guy that we would probably use the word ‘savvy’ to describe. Really like how he runs routes. How he understand leverage as the play develops. And he’s looking good, working hard.”
Manningham had 42 catches for 449 yards and a touchdown in 12 games last season, his first in San Francisco after four years with the New York Giants.
Sep 15, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (28) commits a pass interference penalty on Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate (81) during the 2nd half at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated San Francisco 29-3. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Wright signed a one-year contract in August and was played on the NFI list while handling a personal matter. He had been traded to the 49ers in July, but failed his physical, nullifying the deal. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers then released him.
Wright, a San Francisco native, played collegiately at UNLV before spending four years with the Cleveland Browns and one each with the Detroit Lions and the Buccaneers. He has 14 career interceptions in 85 games.
Asomugha, 32, signed a one-year deal after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles and came into the season as the team’s nickel corner. But he hadn’t played since Sept. 22 and has been a healthy scratch for the last three games.
Asomugha was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection during his tenure with the Raiders from 2003-10. He signed a five-year, $60 million free-agent deal with the Eagles in July 2011, but was a disappointment in Philly and was released in March after the sides couldn’t agree to a restructuring of his contract, which paid him $25 million in guaranteed money.