Amid Rumors of a Triumphant Return Former Raiders Pro Bowler Surprises Fans by Committing to a New Team

The Las Vegas Raiders missed out on signing any of the top free agent wide receivers this offseason. This led to them considering a potential reunion with former wide receiver Hunter Renfrow.

The former fifth-round pick of the Raiders developed into a Pro Bowler during his time in Las Vegas, but his last couple of seasons were lackluster, which led to him being cut. The Raiders brought him in for a visit this offseason, but decided against signing him.

General manager John Spytek previously spoke about and admitted the Raiders were considering Renfrow.

“We were just visiting and checking in on him,” Spytek told reporters at the annual league meeting in Florida. “I’ll just say he’s in a really good spot now where he wants to continue his career. We would be remiss if we didn’t think about it.”

The Raiders missed their chance as Renfrow has now signed elsewhere. The Carolina Panthers announced that they are adding the veteran wide receiver.

As a Clemson alumnus and South Carolina native, Renfrow will be much closer to him in Charlotte than he was in Las Vegas. The Panthers also need wide receiver help, so there’ll be a chance for him to make an impact. The Raiders ended up drafting two wide receivers, a quarterback they plan to convert to wide receiver and added a couple of undrafted free agents, so they may be content at the position.

Raiders Talk Tommy Mollett

One of the more interesting prospects the Raiders added was former Montana State quarterback Tommy Mollett. While he played quarterback in college, teams didn’t see him as one at the NFL level, and he ran routes at his Pro Day.

The Raiders don’t want to rule out Mollett playing quarterback, but they do plan to be creative with him.

“I wouldn’t pigeonhole him right now,” Raiders director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan said after the draft. “We view him as a receiver that’s going to have a lot of value in the kicking game potentially as a returner, as a cover player. Maybe he plays some quarterback too. We’re looking at him really as an athlete/receiver. He’s a unique guy.”

Spytek Talks First Draft

Spytek’s first draft with the Raiders was very eventful. He made a number of trades and put together a class that has received rave reviews. He spoke a bit about his process.

“I felt like the strategy that we approached it with, the manner in which we accomplished it was really solid,” Spytek said of his first draft as general manager. “Now we’ll just see. There’s 32 teams, like I said the other day, that all feel good about it. I’m happy with the way it went because of the teamwork that we had, the people that worked hard, the unselfishness of the group. Just what everyone took to make the Raiders better, that’s what the room was about and I felt like we did that.”

Yeargan also chimed in on the class.

“The competitiveness of this group is pretty unique,” Yeargan said. “The competitiveness, toughness stands out to me, especially with some of these late-round guys that we added.”