Hunter Renfrow is set to make his NFL comeback – after one year out of the league in 2024, the legendary former Clemson wide receiver agreed to terms on a deal with the Carolina Panthers.

So, why didn’t Renfrow play last season?

In a story by Darin Gantt of Panthers.com, Renfrow explained that health challenges – not related to football – kept him off the field last year.

Following is an excerpt from Gantt’s story on Renfrow’s return to the NFL:

He didn’t play last season, an absence from football that was noticeable for a former Pro Bowler who was still at the age when he could have been at his physical prime.

But he was far from anything resembling his physical prime, often leaving him without the energy to do much at all.

Renfrow said that the challenges he’s dealt with stemmed from a diagnosis of the autoimmune condition ulcerative colitis, which had left him with weight loss, fatigue, and high fevers.

“It kicked my butt pretty good,” Renfrow said. “Last year, I fluctuated in weight; I went down to 150 pounds. I had like seven straight days of 103-degree fevers. It’s tough to play when you’re not feeling great.”

After spending a year consulting with doctors and getting the condition under control, he’s ready to make his comeback.

He said he’s “actually a little heavy now,” but said that meant being around 187 pounds instead of 185. “I was eating too many Oreos at night; I’ve got to run a little more,” he joked.

But those kind of small differences, the kinds an athlete notices, are the reasons he’s sure he wants to do this again after a year away.

“It’s just trying to get back, trying to get healthy, trying to do something I love,” he said when asked about a year out of the game. ” I enjoyed other parts of life. We had our second daughter, so enjoying that and just wanting to make sure if I’m going to come back and give my time and attention to something that I was going to be all in on it.”

Following his most recent NFL season in 2023, Renfrow became a free agent in March 2024 after being released by the Raiders, the team he spent five seasons with after they selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Renfrow was highly productive across his first three seasons with the Raiders from 2019-21, tallying 208 receptions for 2,299 yards and 15 touchdowns. However, he caught only 36 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns across 10 games in 2022 while being limited due to injury, then had career lows with 25 catches, 255 receiving yards and no touchdowns over 17 games in his final year with the Raiders in 2023 — two years after his Pro Bowl 2021 campaign that saw him record career highs with 103 receptions, 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns.

Overall, Renfrow has posted 269 receptions for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns across 73 games in his NFL career.

Only 29 years old, Renfrow is grateful for the opportunity he has to play again in the NFL, especially given his health issues as well as the fact he grew up a Panthers fan. According to Gantt’s story, he knew in January that he wanted to get back in the league and was healthy enough to do so.

“I figured if I was going to get in good shape, I might as well do something I love while doing it,” he said, via Gantt. “I’ve been healthy my whole life, and I’ve never had any problems and haven’t broken too many bones. I’m thankful because, through football, I’ve not had a ton of injuries.

“So, to go through that and then come out the other side, I’m just thankful, and I feel like I have a new opportunity.”