Affholter Placed on Injured-Reserve List by the Packers

Wide receiver Erik Affholter, a former Oak Park High and USC football standout, will begin the NFL season on the injured-reserve list for the third year in a row, the Green Bay Packers announced Tuesday. Affholter, who has been troubled by a hamstring injury, will be forced to spend at least four weeks on injured reserve, according to NFL rules.

An ankle injury sidelined Affholter as a rookie in 1989 and a hamstring problem kept him from playing last year. His pro career has been limited to one exhibition game in three seasons.

But at least Affholter survived the NFL’s cut-down day with a job. Aaron Emmanuel, Mike Pringle, Randy Austin, Brent Parkinson, Gary Wellman and Vance Mueller were not so lucky. They were among the area football standouts who were cast aside as NFL teams reduced their rosters to the 47-player regular-season limit.

Pringle (Kennedy High, Cal State Fullerton) and Austin (Canyon High, UCLA) were dropped by the Atlanta Falcons. Pringle was a second-year running back who rushed twice for nine yards and returned one kickoff for 14 yards as a rookie. Austin was a tight end selected in the eighth round of this spring’s draft.

Parkinson, an offensive tackle from Canyon High and USC, was hoping to win a job with the Denver Broncos. He signed with the team as a free agent last year, but spent 1990 on the injured-reserve list and with Denver’s developmental squad.

Emmanuel, one of the most sought-after running backs in the nation as a Quartz Hill senior in 1984, was let go by the Rams. It was the second consecutive year Emmanuel has been cut. He was cut by the New York Giants last season.

Wellman (Westlake High, USC), a running back, and Mueller (Occidental), a wide receiver, were waived by the Houston Oilers and Raiders, respectively.

A lower-back injury put punter Brian Greenfield on the Cleveland Browns’ injured-reserve list. Because Greenfield (Notre Dame High, Glendale College) was placed on injured reserve before the final roster was set, he is ineligible this season.

Greenfield was the Browns’ 10th-round draft choice from Pittsburgh after being being named a second-team All-American by The Associated Press as a senior.