San Francisco 49ers Mario Manningham getting closer to return

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver (82) Mario Manningham against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 24-3. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers passing attack will get a much-needed boost soon, as Mario Manningham is getting closer to returning the squad. He will need to be activated from the PUP list with a knee injury in order to play, and the 49ers have been making sure not to rush things with the 27-year-old Michigan product. Manningham was able to practice this week as was expected, and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is pleased with how Manningahm has looked.

The Sacramento Bee’s Matt Barrows reports that Mario Manningham will be activated from the PUP list “soon”, per Harbaugh, but Harbaugh said he doesn’t “have a crystal ball” when asked about an expected timetable for Manningham. Offseason trade acquisition Jon Baldwin is listed questionable on the injury report this week with an illness, and the 49ers haven’t used Baldwin much despite stating a couple of weeks ago that they wanted to give him more playing time. The 49ers offense is built on the running game, but having guys like Manningham and, later on, Michael Crabtree will certainly give this team a big boost. Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Manningham, Baldwin, and TE Vernon Davis would make up a really nice group of pass-catchers for Colin Kaepernick.

Harbaugh stated that Manningham looked “very good” on Thursday, so we’ll see what happens. Again, getting Manningham back will be huge for the 49ers, as he caught a solid 42 passes in 12 games last season. I’m not the biggest fan of Manningham’s, but he’s ideally a really good No. 3 receiver, and he’s a better and more consistent No. 2 than Baldwin.

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