Getty Las Vegas Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow.
Three games into the season and the Las Vegas Raiders still haven’t gotten Hunter Renfrow consistently involved in the offense. He only has three targets, which has led to speculation that he could be traded.
Renfrow isn’t ignorant of the rumors and had a chance to respond.
“Those rumors have been going on since last year, right?” Renfrow said on September 27, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “So, I knew this offseason, let’s control things you can control, and let’s be a great teammate. And if I do that, then the rest will take care of itself. I’ll look back at this time and say — whether I was traded or I wasn’t — it didn’t matter because I was being a great teammate and I was trying to make the most of my opportunity.”
Renfrow’s lack of involvement in the offense is concerning considering he has a $13.1 million salary cap hit this year, per Spotrac. He’s just two years removed from a season where he had 103 receptions and made the Pro Bowl. For whatever reason, he can’t figure out how to carve out a consistent role under head coach Josh McDaniels.
Hunter Renfrow Talks 2022 Season
Hunter Renfrow’s rough start to 2023 would be less concerning if he wasn’t coming off a bad 2022. Last year, he had career lows in catches (36) and receiving yards (330). Much of that was due to him missing seven games with various injuries. He had a chance to talk about what went wrong in 2022.
“I just wasn’t healthy a lot last year, whether it was the injuries that I had, but also some personal stuff,” Renfrow said. “And I just didn’t feel good. I just didn’t feel healthy. And I didn’t feel like I could be my best self.”
Renfrow decided to spend his offseason in his home state of South Carolina, which he thinks was a beneficial experience for him.
“It was good to be around my family,” Renfrow said. “It was good to be around friends. It was good to figure out what you love about football and figure out what your purpose is outside of football and how you can do that on a day-to-day basis. It was healthy.”
Fourth-and-5. Raiders clear out for Meyers to run a triple-move route
No disrespect to Meyers, who has been great, but this is a Hunter Renfrow route. Let him cook again.
Hunter Renfrow Discusses Role in Offense
Hunter Renfrow can’t throw himself the ball. He’s reliant on the coach scheming up plays for him and a quarterback to get him the ball. He’s trying not to stress too hard about the specifics and just doing what he can to be productive.
“I’m still figuring it out,” Renfrow said of his role in the offense. “It’s a day-to-day process. For me, it’s more so just controlling what I can every single day because I don’t make decisions, right? I could have a great day or a bad day, but it still doesn’t (change anything). I don’t get to call the plays.
“And that was one thing I reflected on this year: No matter what happens, just to control what I can control and be a great teammate every day. I’m not having a great year statistically right now, but I’ve had a lot of joy every day in being with my teammates because of that.”
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Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow Shares Strong Response to Trade Rumors