CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Add another chapter to Hunter Renfrow's comeback story, even before the veteran wide receiver plays a regular-season game for the Carolina Panthers.
Two days after being released, Renfrow was picking up a trailer and checking in with the men at his uncle's equipment relocation and metal recycling business in Woodruff, S.C., where Renfrow worked during his year away from the NFL.
Renfrow left his two daughters in his vehicle during his stop at ESS Industrial, where he's also a partner. When he returned, he had about 10 missed calls from Panthers coach Dave Canales, general manager Dan Morgan and his agent, Jay Courie.
"They all were just ignored," Renfrow said. "My (4-year-old) daughter was watching Bluey or something."
It turns out that while Renfrow again was contemplating life after football, slot receiver Jalen Coker had sustained what Canales called a "pretty significant quad strain" while running a route in a one-on-one drill Thursday. Coker was out for four to six weeks, and the Panthers had traded veteran wideout Adam Thielen to the Minnesota Vikings the previous day.
Thus, the phone calls to Renfrow.
The decision to cut Renfrow was made in part because of Canales' concerns that Renfrow wasn't ready for the rigors of a 17-game schedule after missing the 2024 season dealing with ulcerative colitis. The condition caused Renfrow to lose 35 pounds and left him feeling poorly until he began receiving infusions of medication for inflammatory bowel disease.
After a good start to training camp, Renfrow pulled his hamstring and caught only four passes for 12 yards in two preseason games. Canales wanted Renfrow to return on the practice squad. But the calculus changed when Coker was injured.
"I was able to come in over the weekend and just have a conversation with him and reiterate the fact that I'm committed to this story. 'I'm committed to your story here with the Panthers and the excitement that I have for where this could go,'" Canales said Monday. "Jalen gets hurt, and all of a sudden it's like, 'OK, Hunter, and by the way, you're playing on Sunday right now. So let's go.'"
But Renfrow needed a couple of days to process things. His wife, Camilla, is pregnant with the couple's third daughter, who is due in October, so Renfrow wanted her approval. And while a few other teams checked in with Courie, Renfrow told his agent -- just as he had in the spring before signing with Carolina -- it was either play with the Panthers or not at all.
In the meantime, Morgan and executive VP of football operations Brandt Tilis stayed in touch with Renfrow and Courie. So did quarterbacks Bryce Young and Andy Dalton, whose lockers are near Renfrow's.
"Bryce gave me a call and told me about his deal last year and some things that happened," Renfrow said of Young's Week 3 benching in 2024. "He had a lot of perseverance stories to share."
Dalton texted Renfrow and told Young they should send him a picture of his locker stall, which had been left unchanged, saying they missed him.
As his agent began negotiating with the Panthers, Renfrow wanted more of a commitment from the Panthers. While his initial deal was worth $1.3 million, the new contract -- agreed to Friday and announced Saturday -- will pay Renfrow $2.3 million with another $800,000 in potential incentives, according to a league source.
Renfrow, who turns 30 in December, will earn $200,000 if he finishes with 40 catches and another $200,000 if he reaches 500 receiving yards, the source said. Both of those totals increase to $400,000 if the Panthers make the playoffs.
Renfrow was asked whether he had doubts about Canales being committed to his story after being released.
"Maybe a little bit," he said with a chuckle. "I think his biggest thing when I was on the way out was he felt like I could get there. I wasn't physically ready yet, which we'll see, right? We've got some games coming up pretty fast. But it was a concern he had, so he wanted to work with me through it, have me come back, kind of work through it and then go week to week from there."
Canales said he and Renfrow shared a laugh on the practice field Monday, talking about how God works in mysterious ways. "It's a little different than we both kind of pictured," Canales said. "But here we are, so let's go."
Renfrow shared a story with Canales from his freshman season at Clemson in 2015, when he joined the team as a walk-on. Tigers receiver Mike Williams fractured his neck early in the opener against Wofford when he collided with the base of the goal post. Renfrow entered the game, caught two passes and would go on to finish his career with two national championships and 186 receptions, fifth most in school history.
The Raiders drafted Renfrow in the fifth round in 2019. He caught 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021 and went to his first Pro Bowl. It was during the Pro Bowl week in Las Vegas that Renfrow began feeling off, the start of a three-year health battle that had him questioning his future.
Renfrow returned to the NFL in April, had a brief break last week, and was back catching passes for the Panthers again on Labor Day. He'll start at slot receiver Sunday at Jacksonville.
"It's been a whirlwind a little bit," he said.
As Dalton dressed quickly following Monday's practice and prepared to head to Chapel Hill to cheer on TCU against North Carolina, the veteran quarterback was glad to look to his left and see Renfrow back at his locker stall again.
"With everything he went through last year, just to get back playing football again, he wouldn't be doing this unless he felt like he really wanted to and wanted to be in it," Dalton said. "We welcomed him back with open arms."