Manasseh Sylvester Garner (born March 11, 1992) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

before transferring to Pitt. Garner signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2015.

Early life

Garner attended Brashear High School in the Beechview neighborhood of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he recorded 27 receptions for 540 yards and 10

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He also recorded 60

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, six sacks, two blocked punts, and two

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s on defense. For the season he was an All-State Class AA selection by the Pennsylvania Sports Writers as an all-purpose player. He was also named ''Pennsylvania Football News'' All-Class AAA and ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' City League Player of the Year. While at Brashear he recorded 83 receptions for 1,267 yards and 21 touchdowns on offense and 149 tackles, 10 sacks and four interceptions on defense, for his career. He was also a two-time

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and team

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP). He was ranked Pennsylvania's 18th overall prospect by Scout.com, 24th by ''SuperPrep'' and 35th by Rivals.com. He was also selected to play in the

Big 33 Football Classic The Big 33 Football Classic is an All-star game, all-star American football game featuring the top high school football, high-school football players in Pennsylvania. Played since 1958 in sports, 1958, the game is often described as the "Super B ...

. He was also an honor roll student. A 3-star recruit, Garner committed to play college football at

over offers from

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

, Buffalo,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and Toledo.

College career

Wisconsin

As a true freshman in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Garner appeared in 10 games for the Badgers. He played at

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, wide receiver and on kick coverage. He recorded 10 tackles for the season. As a sophomore in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he appeared in 10 games. He recorded two receptions for 45 yards.

Pittsburgh

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Garner transferred to Pitt, where he had to sit out the season due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules. In

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

junior, Garner appeared in all 13 games, with five starts. He played at

and H-back but also at wide receiver, after starter Devin Street was injured. For the season, he recorded 33 receptions for 391 yards and three touchdowns. As a redshirt senior in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, he appeared in eight games, with nine starts at wide receiver opposite Tyler Boyd. For the season, he recorded 17 receptions for 201 yards and two touchdowns. While at Pitt, he majored in

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

Career statistics

Professional career

Prior to the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, Garner was projected to play as a fullback.

Kansas City Chiefs

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

Garner signed with the

as a fullback. He was then released on May, 19.

Cleveland Browns

On August 9, he was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

as a tight end. He was released on August 22.

Brooklyn Bolts

Garner signed with the

Brooklyn Bolts The Brooklyn Bolts were a professional football (gridiron), professional American football team based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York (state), New York. They were a charter member of the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL), which was t ...

, a member of the

Fall Experimental Football League The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL). The le ...

. Because of his experience as a fullback, Garner served as a hybrid player in the Bolts backfield. Over the course of the 2 game FXFL season, Garner recorded 17 rushes for 57 yards and a touchdown, plus 4 catches for 15 yards and another score. Garner's two touchdowns accounted for one third of the touchdowns scored by the Bolts that season.

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

Garner was signed to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on December 30, 2015.

Denver Broncos

Garner was signed to a futures contract by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on January 13, 2016. He was released on August 29, 2016.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On October 5, 2016 Garner was signed to the Bills practice squad. On October 21, he was promoted to the Bills active roster. He was released on October 28 and was re-signed to the practice squad on October 31, 2016.

Washington Redskins

In April, Garner participated in

The Spring League The Spring League (TSL) was an American football Minor league football (gridiron), developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional football (gridiron), p ...

, a startup developmental league. Garner was invited to a tryout with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. On May 15, 2017, Garner was officially signed by Washington. On September 2, 2017, Garner was waived by the team and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 27, 2017. On August 9, 2018, Garner injured his ACL during the first pre-season game, which ended his season. He was waived on June 6, 2019.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

Garner was signed by the

on August 12, 2019. He was waived on August 31, 2019.

Personal life

Garner is the son of Marcellus and Mechella Garner and has two sisters and one brother. His cousin Justin King was a fourth round selection in the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Manasseh Living people 1992 births Players of American football from Pittsburgh Wisconsin Badgers football players American football defensive ends American football tight ends Pittsburgh Panthers football players American football wide receivers Kansas City Chiefs players American football fullbacks Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Buffalo Bills players Washington Redskins players The Spring League players