Simon, Baker among players released

N.Y. Giants place Manningham on IR

Staff/wire report

Six football players with Mahoning Valley ties were cut by their NFL teams on Saturday.

The players are John Simon (Cardinal Mooney), Sean Baker (Canfield), Fitzgerald Toussaint (Liberty), Michael Zordich (Mooney), Brandian Ross (Youngstown State) and Lamar Mady (YSU).

Simon and Toussaint were released by the Baltimore Ravens, while Ross and Mady were let go by the Raiders after playing for Oakland last fall. Baker was cut by the Atlanta Falcons and Zordich by the Carolina Panthers.

Wide receiver Mario Manningham (Warren Harding) was placed on injured reserve by the New York Giants.

Manningham, who helped the Giants win the Super Bowl three seasons ago with a spectacular sideline catch against the New England Patriots, injured a calf in a preseason game.

In March 2012, Manningham was a free agent and signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Because of injuries, he rarely suited up for the Niners and was hoping to rejoin the Giants.

The biggest surprise is the release of Simon, the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year two seasons ago with Ohio State. In the 2013 NFL Draft, the Ravens selected Simon in the fourth round.

But Simon couldn’t make an outside linebacker rotation that includes Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, Courtney Upshaw and Pernell McPhee.

Fitzgerald was an undrafted free agent after playing for the University of Michigan.

After spending part of two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baker was signed to the Falcons’ practice squad last October.

A safety and special teams player from Ball State, Baker has been visible in a few scenes of the past two episodes of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Atlanta Falcons.”

Zordich, who played fullback at Penn State, missed the 2013 season when he tore his ACL in a Panthers preseason game.

In the fourth quarter of Thursday’s preseason game against the Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Zordich had four carries for -4 yards.

A strong safety, Ross had been with the Raiders since 2012. He played regularly last season.

Mady joined the Raiders’ practice squad last season.

For the first time in his career, Champ Bailey was told he isn’t good enough.

Jettisoned by the New Orleans Saints after a difficult training camp, the 12-time Pro Bowl cornerback was the most notable name when NFL teams trimmed their rosters to 53 active players.

A close second was Rams rookie Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team.

The seventh-round draft pick, watched as closely as any rookie in the league this summer, couldn’t make a team stacked with pass-rushers. He still has a chance to get picked up by another team or to make the Rams’ practice squad.

Players with fewer than four seasons in the league are subject to waivers. Those who clear waivers and have practice squad eligibility can sign today when teams fill out their 10-member developmental units.