49ers’ WR Manningham placed on Injured Reserve
It was reported earlier that San Francisco 49ers’ head coach Jim Harbaugh “didn’t foresee” wide receiver Mario Mannigham playing this week at the Arizona Cardinals.
Now, according to 49ers.com, Mannigham has officially been placed on Injured Reserve.
Mannigham tore ligaments in his knee last December and was forced to miss San Francisco’s first eight games of the year while rehabbing the injury. Complications from said injury led to Manningham missing Candlestick Park’s perceived finale on Monday.
In his first three games back, Manningham caught 8 passes for 83 yards but has been limited to just one catch for 2 yards in his previous three – which came against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 15th.
With Michael Crabtree seemingly almost all the way back from a torn Achilles – and thankfully-so for San Francisco with this news – the 49ers’ receiving corps is still in better shape than it was to start the season.
Kassim Osgood figures to fill the team’s No. 3 receiver slot — behind Anquan Boldin and Crabtree — for the foreseeable future, and is officially listed as probable for Sunday’s regular season finale against Arizona. Another option for that slot is rookie Quinton Patton, who also missed time this season — 10 games to be exact — with a fracture in his foot.
San Francisco sits at 11-4 on the season, one game back of the NFC West leading Seattle Seahawks. The beneficiary of their second 5-game winning streak of the season, the 49ers still have a shot at the West crown and a first round bye in the playoffs — and another game at Candlestick Park — if they can pull out a win at the Cardinals and the Seahawks lose at home against the St. Louis Rams.