The San Francisco 49ers were happy to finalize their deal with wide receiver Mario Manningham on Thursday afternoon, and held a conference call soon afterwards to discuss his feelings on his digs out West, and what he expects from his new team.
"I wanted to go to the 49ers, that's the team I wanted to go to," he said during a conference call with reporters. "They have a good coaching staff, great players around them and I know what they're capable of doing," Manningham said.
Manningham agreed to his deal before the whole Alex Smith, Peyton Manning thing really heated up, and wanted to make sure that it was known that the possibility of Manning joining the Niners had nothing to do with his decision:
"I thought he was coming to the 49ers but he didn't, he went to Denver. So good luck with him with there, and I just wish everything the best for him. We have Alex Smith -- he's a great player and he played good last year. I knew it was a possibility but I wasn't picking them because of that."
Manningham joins a group of Michael Crabtree and veteran Randy Moss, a rather solid core of receivers on paper. Now the question will be how Alex Smith meshes with his new targets. Either way, it's certainly exciting to have some more playmakers on the squad.
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