Hunter Renfrow officially signed with the Carolina Panthers this week to officially restart his NFL career.

He revealed recently that he had battled an autoimmune disease that contributed to his year away from the game after being cut from the Las Vegas Raiders.

He said this week that he started feeling the effects of it around signing his big extension with the Raiders after a Pro Bowl 2021 season:

“I just signed a new contract. I had a new coaching staff that I was going to be perfect for…and I was just a dud, and I was like, man, I know I don’t feel well, but I do not want to play football again,” Renfrow admitted

Then he received a diagnosis and, more importantly, a treatment plan. As life outside of football began to return to normal, so did the idea of playing again.

“I went to a high school for a couple of high school football games, and I was like, man, they’re having fun. That’s what I used to do. I used to have fun playing this game.”

He noticed that same joyfulness for the game when he would tune in to the Panthers in the latter half of last season. A former Raider, Renfrow made sure to watch that Week 3 win. Then, he came to Bank of America Stadium in Week 9 when his former quarterback, Derek Carr, was leading the Saints…

“It looked like they were having fun, and it looked like they were playing for a guy like coach Canales, who I’ve heard great things about, and they were wanting to win for him and play for him and just had a lot of fun playing.

“And so watching them progress towards the end of the year, it reminded me of a little bit like Clemson back in the 2010, 2011 (season) when coach Swinney was starting to get things going. You had some people buying in believing, and I saw some kind of similarity between that and what coach Canales was building.

“So it was cool to watch and it was a lot of momentum to be able to come in and step into and just a lot of good energy in the building.”

Renfrow had high praise for his new QB, Bryce Young.

“Getting in here this week and watching him on film, he’s very mobile, you know, he’s got a high IQ and he just, he makes plays and he’s a winner and that’s what you want to be around. That’s what you want to build around,” said Renfrow.

Hear more from Renfrow below:

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