It's been a long few seasons leading to his return to the NFL for wide receiver Hunter Renfrow.
The wide receiver, drafted out of Clemson after winning the national championship with the Tigers in 2018, has undergone one of the most inspiring comebacks in recent memory.
His breakout season in 2021 with the Las Vegas Raiders included 103 receptions, 1,038 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
After signing a two-year, $32 million extension with the Raiders in 2022, Renfrow began to struggle the following season.
A concussion caused Renfrow to miss seven games in 2022, and he never quite regained the same success with the Raiders.
While continuing to struggle and not finding very much playing time in 2023, Las Vegas decided to cut the now 29-year-old because of his declining performance and to save some money for free agency.
The #Raiders will release WR Hunter Renfrow when the new league year begins later today, source said, as he was to count $13.7M against the cap. Renfrow, along with QB Jimmy Garoppolo, will both be free agents. pic.twitter.com/ps7AaFXb1x
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2024
He would then go under the radar, sitting out the entire 2024 season due to a medical condition, ulcerative colitis.
The condition led to the receiver losing a lot of weight, extreme fatigue and high fevers.
"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," Renfrow said when he went public on why he missed the 2024 season.
He talked about his struggles with the Raiders after his underperforming seasons as well.
"I felt so bad those two years, and I felt like I let my teammates down so much. I was like, 'Man, I don't feel well, but I do not want to play football again. Like, I do not want to let people down," he mentioned, according to MLFootball on X.
DAMN: Hunter Renfrow talks about his struggles with the #Raiders 💔
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 4, 2025
“I felt so bad those two years, and I felt like I let my teammates down so much,”
“I was like, ‘Man, I know I don’t feel well, but I do not want to play football again. Like, I do not want to let people down.“ pic.twitter.com/Si3wE8OMwV
The veteran receiver would later sign with the Carolina Panthers after the 2025 NFL Draft and his story has begun to go viral.
It seems as if Hunter Renfrow is back in football shape and ready to take on a new chapter with the Panthers.
