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After answering five questions in front of his locker on Thursday night — all of which circled around the topic of his future with the Carolina Panthers — Hunter Renfrow laughed in faux exasperation.
“Y’all are asking some *questions,*” he said.
He then shrugged and politely repeated himself.
“To be honest, we just finished playing, and I haven’t really thought much about it,” Renfrow said after the Panthers’ 19-10 loss to the Steelers in both teams’ final preseason game. “I’ve just been trying to get better every day.”
The crux of all the queries thrown at Renfrow related to the team’s biggest unknown heading into the NFL roster deadline, which comes at 4 p.m. Tuesday: What will the Panthers do with their deep receiver room?
And as it related to Renfrow: How did he feel about the uncertainty?
These questions, of course, aren’t new. The receiver room has been the talk of the Charlotte franchise since late April. The team acquired Renfrow on April 27, after all, and the 2021 Pro Bowler joined a group with four returning contributors — Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker and David Moore — and two other draft picks in No. 8 overall pick Tetairoa McMillan and Jimmy Horn Jr.
That’s seven receivers with reputations that precede them. And that doesn’t include the undrafted rookies the team brought in, either.
How many receivers will the Panthers keep? Seven? If six, who is the first to go?
Carolina Panthers tight end James Mitchell, left, is congratulated by wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, right, following Mitchell's touchdown pass reception during action against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, August 21, 2025. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Renfrow wasn’t the focal point of these cuts for most of the preseason. The former Clemson national champion, after taking a year off from football with a year-long battle with ulcerative colitis, was looking like the “Superman” that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he remembered him to be. He was among the training camp MVPs after the first two weeks, far from the proverbial roster bubble — no doubt.
Then a Renfrow hamstring issue popped up in the middle of camp, forcing him to miss the first joint practice and the preseason game against the Browns. He got back on the field in the two remaining preseason games and looked fast, healthy — more so than his stat line of four receptions on six targets for 12 yards indicated. (On Thursday, for what it’s worth, he said his hamstring “felt good.”)
But the questions kept swirling about the room at large. And some about Renfrow naturally came to the fore.
After all, he played most of the first half in a preseason game Thursday night when 33 Panthers players — including 22 starters — didn’t play0. To add some WR-specific wrinkles: Horn didn’t get a rep in the first half. Coker played on the special teams late into the third quarter. Training camp star Brycen Tremayne didn’t play at all Thursday; head coach Dave Canales said the move related to Tremayne’s “general body soreness,” and when asked about if that speaks to his prospects of making the roster, Canales said, “He’s got a good chance.”
All this sparked questions.
But Renfrow made clear that he hasn’t considered those possibilities at all — and for good reason.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Hunter Renfrow is upended by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Miles Killebrew, back to camera, on a reception attempt at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, August 21, 2025. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
“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 like that, 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 a mentality 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.
Such a mentality, at the same time, is what made Renfrow focused on the present, avoiding wondering what would happen if he didn’t make the Carolina roster — avoiding the question of “What would be next?”
“I don’t know,” Renfrow said. “I’m just here today.”
He laughed again.
“Honestly, I’m not lying to y’all,” he said. “I have not thought about it, really. Because you can’t. If you worry about if you’re going to make something or not, you’re not getting any better. And so if you’re trying to get better every day, you’re not going to think about those things.”