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Panthers sign Manumaleuna to offer sheet
BY JIM THOMAS
Post-Dispatch
03/05/2004
Brandon Manumaleuna, shown above in a 2001 photo, had two TD receptions for the Rams last season.
(Chris Lee/P-D)
The Carolina Panthers must have liked what they saw from tight end Brandon Manumaleuna in their playoff victory over the Rams in January.
That's because the Panthers signed Manumaleuna, a restricted free agent, to a five-year, $8.3 million offer sheet , the Post-Dispatch has learned.
The Rams have seven days to decide whether to match the offer. If they match, Manumaleuna returns to the Rams under the terms of the offer sheet. If they don't, Manumaleuna goes to the Panthers and the Rams get a fourth-round draft pick in April from Carolina.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Manumaleuna caught 29 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in 2003. He caught one pass for 19 yards against the Panthers, in the Rams' 29-23 overtime loss Jan. 10 in the NFC divisional playoffs.
At best, Manumaleuna had an uneven performance in 2003. At least three blocking miscues or blown assignments by Manumaleuna led to sack fumbles by Rams quarterbacks. But at times he displayed good hands, and good line-of-scrimmage blocking skills.
The Rams asked him to play fullback as well as tight end for much of the season, and coach Mike Martz later said that some of the miscues might have been due to the fact that the Rams were asking him to do too much.
The Rams currently don't have a tight end under contract. Last year's backup, Cam Cleeland, is an unrestricted free agent whom the team is trying to re-sign.
But the Rams are taking no chances. Even before the Rams received the Manumaleuna offer sheet Friday afternoon from Carolina, they were lining up visits from free-agent tight ends.
Kansas City's Jason Dunn, Pittsburgh's Mark Bruener, and San Francisco's Jed Weaver are among the tight ends scheduled to visit Rams Park next week.
BY JIM THOMAS
Post-Dispatch
03/05/2004
Brandon Manumaleuna, shown above in a 2001 photo, had two TD receptions for the Rams last season.
(Chris Lee/P-D)
The Carolina Panthers must have liked what they saw from tight end Brandon Manumaleuna in their playoff victory over the Rams in January.
That's because the Panthers signed Manumaleuna, a restricted free agent, to a five-year, $8.3 million offer sheet , the Post-Dispatch has learned.
The Rams have seven days to decide whether to match the offer. If they match, Manumaleuna returns to the Rams under the terms of the offer sheet. If they don't, Manumaleuna goes to the Panthers and the Rams get a fourth-round draft pick in April from Carolina.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Manumaleuna caught 29 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in 2003. He caught one pass for 19 yards against the Panthers, in the Rams' 29-23 overtime loss Jan. 10 in the NFC divisional playoffs.
At best, Manumaleuna had an uneven performance in 2003. At least three blocking miscues or blown assignments by Manumaleuna led to sack fumbles by Rams quarterbacks. But at times he displayed good hands, and good line-of-scrimmage blocking skills.
The Rams asked him to play fullback as well as tight end for much of the season, and coach Mike Martz later said that some of the miscues might have been due to the fact that the Rams were asking him to do too much.
The Rams currently don't have a tight end under contract. Last year's backup, Cam Cleeland, is an unrestricted free agent whom the team is trying to re-sign.
But the Rams are taking no chances. Even before the Rams received the Manumaleuna offer sheet Friday afternoon from Carolina, they were lining up visits from free-agent tight ends.
Kansas City's Jason Dunn, Pittsburgh's Mark Bruener, and San Francisco's Jed Weaver are among the tight ends scheduled to visit Rams Park next week.
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