EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Third-round pick Mario Manningham signed a four-year contract with the New York Giants on Tuesday, leaving the Super Bowl champions with only two unsigned draft selections.
"The wide receiver position for a rookie is probably one of the most difficult to learn, so we all felt it was important for him not to miss training camp," Don Yee, Manningham's agent, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Yee refused to discuss the value of the contract for the speedy receiver, who caught 137 passes for 2,310 yards and 27 touchdowns at Michigan.
Those statistics should have gotten Manningham drafted earlier, but he slipped to the third round because of off-field problems.
Before the draft, he wrote a letter to NFL executives admitting he failed two drug tests while in college. About a year ago, police found a prescription pain killer and a controlled substance in a car in which he was riding with two other men.
Manningham was not charged, but he was suspended for a game.
General manager Jerry Reese said the Giants are confident that Manningham's problems are behind him.
The Giants, who stunned the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, open training camp at the University at Albany next week.
Miami safety Kenny Phillips, the Giants' first-round selection, and Southern California cornerback Terrell Thomas, the second-round choice, are the only draft picks Reese has not signed.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
