Panthers bring back Hunter Renfrow as Jalen Coker goes down with injury

Alex Zietlow, The Charlotte Observer on Aug 30, 2025

Published in Football

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It took a few days — and an injury — but the Carolina Panthers have brought back a training camp favorite.

The team announced Saturday that it is signing Hunter Renfrow to the team’s 53-man roster. Renfrow, 29 and a 2021 Pro Bowler, spent the spring and summer with the Panthers but was cut ahead of Tuesday’s NFL roster deadline.

The news comes a few days after a hectic week in the NFL — and particularly among the Panthers’ wide receivers. The biggest splash came on Wednesday, when the Panthers dealt veteran slot receiver Adam Thielen to the Minnesota Vikings.

The announcement of Renfrow’s return is accompanied by injury news. Second-year wide receiver Jalen Coker suffered a quad injury in practice this week and has since been moved to the injured reserve, according to the team. He will miss at least the first four games of the season, per league rules.

The move, however, made room for the addition of Renfrow on the team’s 53-man roster — and the Panthers jumped on it.

The former Clemson national champion is now the second-oldest pass-catcher employed by the Panthers behind 30-year-old David Moore, and is re-joining a group that he’s worked with all summer. This group includes all seven players on the active roster — from returning contributors Xavier Legette, Coker and Moore; to rookies Tetairoa McMillan and Jimmy Horn Jr.; to training camp standout Brycen Tremayne; to waiver wire claim Dalevon Campbell. Renfrow will fill an important role in the slot for the Panthers’ offense.

Renfrow’s return was never a guarantee. Upon his release, Renfrow fielded calls from “a lot of suitors,” according to a league source. The same source said the Panthers ultimately were able to retain him with an enhanced deal with incentives that can bring him up to a total of $3 million on the season even with his base salary remaining the same.

But in the days leading up to Saturday, both head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan told reporters that they were in “constant communication” with the wideout, and that they wanted to be a part of Renfrow’s future — however that looked.

“He’s talking to his family, he’s talking to his agent, we have a couple of things on the table for him, and we’re just going to keep taking it one day at a time to see where he’s at,” Canales said on Wednesday of Renfrow. “I just felt like toward the end — the last stretch of what I saw — I want to be able to count on Hunter to be as good as he was the whole time. I saw some peaks and I saw some dips also, in terms of his performance. In fairness to the whole group and in fairness to the team, I just wanted to make sure he knew, ‘I want to be a part of your future; I don’t think right now is the time, initially, for this team.’ He just said, ‘I need to think about what I want to do.’ ”

Canales added: “I just want to be a part of his future. I just told him that. In whatever capacity that is — whether it’s the 53, or practice squad, that was the conversations we left on.”

Why Renfrow didn’t make the Panthers initially

Canales’ decision to cut Renfrow was met with surprise earlier this week.

Renfrow was an early ascender in May’s offseason training activities. He was clearly in shape — dispelling any concerns about his year-long battle with ulcerative colitis — and was creative and sharp in his route-running.

Come training camp this summer, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound marksman was earning key reps with the first team offense quickly and proving his reliability as a slot receiver. His promising play even compelled Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney to make the trip to Charlotte and watch practice from the sideline.

Then, a hamstring injury forced him to miss time, which included the team’s first joint practice and the subsequent preseason contest against the Cleveland Browns. Then two more understated performances against the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers — mixed with his limited work on special teams — suddenly placed him on the roster bubble.

After the Steelers contest, in the locker room, Renfrow told reporters that he hadn’t thought about his roster standing or what would be next if he didn’t make the Panthers’ roster.

“I’ve never really thought about it like that,” Renfrow said when asked if he felt comfortable that he’d make the team. “I’ve just thought about it as, if I’m here, I’m getting ready to play a full season. So that’s how I’ve looked at it. And if I’m here, I’m here; if I’m not, I’m not.”

He added: “To be honest, I’ve just finished playing, so I haven’t thought much about it. I’ve just been trying to get better every day. If I’m worried about whether or not I’m making a roster, then I’m not going to be any good for a season. So that’s kind of how I’ve approached it.”

Such an approach is what yielded the NFL career Renfrow has had to date. In five seasons, he’s accumulated 269 receptions for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns.

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Mike Kaye contributed to this report.