Hunter Renfrow battled medical condition in year off from football

Hunter Renfrow is restarting his NFL career in Charlotte. (Photo per Panthers X)

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Wednesday, April 30 2025

Hunter Renfrow's hiatus from football last year seemed curious on the outside, but he had another battle off the gridiron.

Renfrow revealed to Panthers.com that he was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition ulcerative colitis, which the story reports gave him "weight loss, fatigue, and high fevers."

"It kicked my butt pretty good," Renfrow said. "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 that he is back up to around 185 pounds weight-wise.

Renfrow officially signed with the Carolina Panthers this week a little over a year after the Raiders cut him. He said in January his path to here started.

"I figured if I was going to get in good shape, I might as well do something I love while doing it," he told Panthers.com. "I've been healthy my whole life, and I've never had any problems and haven't broken too many bones. I'm thankful because, through football, I've not had a ton of injuries.

"So, to go through that and then come out the other side, I'm just thankful, and I feel like I have a new opportunity."

Renfrow was limited to 25 catches for 255 yards and no touchdowns in 2023 over 17 games, coming off of a career-low 10 games played in 2022.

His best season with the Raiders came in 2021 when he earned Pro Bowl honors with 103 catches for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns.

He finished his Clemson career with 186 receptions for 2,133 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2,408 snaps over 55 games (47 starts). He set Clemson records for starts by a receiver (47) and consecutive games with a reception (43).