After not playing in the 2024 NFL season, Hunter Renfrow is back in the league with the Carolina Panthers. Where was Renfrow, who was released by the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason?
Well, the wide receiver revealed that he had been diagnosed with the autoimmune condition ulcerative colitis. The effects of that condition took a toll on his body and kept him off the football field.
“It kicked my butt pretty good,” Renfrow said, according to the Panthers’ team website. “Last year, I fluctuated in weight; I went down to 150 pounds. I had like seven straight days of 103-degree fevers. It’s tough to play when you’re not feeling great.”
The 29-year-old Renfrow, who signed a one-year deal with the Panthers earlier this month, is bullish on his health.
“It’s just trying to get back, trying to get healthy, trying to do something I love,” Renfrow said. “I enjoyed other parts of life. We had our second daughter, so enjoying that and just wanting to make sure if I’m going to come back and give my time and attention to something that I was going to be all in on it.”
The Raiders selected Renfrow in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Clemson. As a member of the Tigers, Renfrow was part of two national championship teams (2016 and 2018), most notably reeling in a game-winning touchdown pass against Alabama in the 2016 title game with one second remaining.
Bryce Young details his growth from being benched
Renfrow was previously a consistent catalyst in the Raiders’ passing attack, highlighted by a 2021 season in which he hauled in 103 receptions for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns and earned a Pro Bowl nod. After an injury-riddled 2022 campaign, Renfrow totaled just 25 receptions for 255 yards and zero touchdowns in 2023, which is the last time that he appeared in the NFL.
But the opportunity for a second chance and it coming relatively close to his hometown means something to Renfrow.
“I’m from the Carolinas, born in Myrtle Beach, went to school at Clemson, and so the opportunity to come back here and be a part of Carolina, the people are special to me; the place is special to me,” Renfrow said. “I’m probably a little biased, but I would tell them when I was in Vegas, you know, the Carolinas are the best place in the world. I would tell my teammates that over and over.
“And watching Cam Newton in the Super Bowl, just a lot of good memories. I’ve been a Carolina Panther fan my whole life, right?”
The Panthers are coming off a 5-12 season and had a passing attack that was 30th in the NFL (187.5 passing yards per game). Renfrow joins a wide receiver group that includes veteran Adam Thielen and young receivers Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan, the latter of whom Carolina selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, quarterback Bryce Young played well down the stretch of last season in what was the best run of his two-year career, as the signal-caller threw for 1,583 yards, 11 touchdowns, just three interceptions and posted a 92.3 passer rating across Carolina’s final seven games.
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