Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales met with the media on Wednesday and commented on Hunter Renfrow’s future.

The former Clemson star was released by the Panthers ahead of Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline, by which NFL teams had to reduce their rosters to 53 players.

Renfrow was not among the players the Panthers added back to their practice squad on Wednesday, but Canales says the team has been in “constant communication” with Renfrow since Tuesday and that they “have a couple of things on the table” for the 29-year-old wide receiver.

Canales added that he saw “peaks” and “dips” as far as Renfrow’s performance during camp and the preseason, but Canales told Renfrow he wanted to stay in touch with him as he thinks about possibilities going forward.

“He’s talking to his family, he’s talking to his agent. We have a couple of things on the table for him,” Canales said. “We’re just going to keep taking it kind of one day at a time and see where he’s at. I just felt like towards the end, like 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. And I just saw some peaks and then I just saw some dips also in terms of his performance, and I just felt like, in fairness to the whole group, in fairness to the team, I wanted to make sure that he knew I want to be a part of your future.”

Canales says the Panthers made the best decision for the team at this time.

“I don’t think right now is the time initially for this team,” Canales said, “and so he just kind of said, you know, I have to think about what I want to do, and so we’re in communication right now and we’re going to kind of take it day by day and see what we’re at.”

Renfrow signed with the Panthers back in April, attempting an NFL comeback after missing the entire 2024 season while dealing with health challenges stemming from a diagnosis of the autoimmune condition ulcerative colitis.

Renfrow caught four passes for 12 yards this preseason. He missed the Panthers’ preseason opener due to a hamstring injury before playing in their other two preseason games. Early in Panthers camp before his injury, Renfrow looked really good, drawing plenty of praise and positive reviews.

Regarding Canales saying the Panthers have a couple of options on the table for Renfrow, Canales was asked if any of them are “non-playing options.”

“Could be,” Canales said. “We’re just talking about everything right now. I just want to be a part of his future, of what he wants to do. I just told him that, like in whatever capacity that is, whether it’s the 53 or practice squad. That was just kind of the conversations that we left on.

“I’m just talking about wanting to be a part of him, like the guy that I remember. And I think that he’s on his way back there, and I truly believe that, and I believe in him as a guy. I had such a blast working with him in this short amount of time, but I’d love to see him back out there at some point, and so it’s just a matter of us continuing to stay in touch and see where we’re at.”

Prior to sitting out the 2024 season, Renfrow played five seasons with the Raiders from 2019-23, tallying 269 receptions for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns over that span before being released by the Raiders in March 2024. He finished the 2023 season with just 25 catches for 255 yards, but dealt with an injury most of the season.

After being selected in the fifth round by the Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft, Renfrow turned in his best season two years later, catching 103 balls for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021. He was a Pro Bowl selection that season.