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By Joe Kozlowski
Sports Team Lead
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If you've played fantasy football over the past few years, you're probably familiar with Hunter Renfrow. The Las Vegas Raiders receiver exploded in 2021, pulling in 103 catches for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns. Those numbers made him especially dominant in PPR (point-per-reception) formats, and he probably helped teams around the country reach the summit of their respective leagues.
But Renfrow has since fallen off. He struggled with injuries during the 2022 campaign and hasn't really figured into the Raiders offense during 2023. Unsurprisingly, trade rumors have started to swirl.
Moving the receiver, though, won't be as easy as the Raiders might hope. In fact, Las Vegas is trapped in a lose-lose situation of their own making.
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Let's break it down.
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Renfrow Has Fallen Off the Map in Vegas
At the risk of invoking a cliché, Renfrow's football career sounds like something out of a sports movie. The undersized recruit had some lower-level offers coming out of high school, but he opted to walk onto the Clemson Tigers. The receiver started as a redshirt freshman but eventually earned a scholarship and helped the program win two NCAA titles.
When the 2019 NFL draft rolled around, Renfrow joined the Raiders as a fifth-round pick. He posted two solid, if unremarkable seasons, before exploding in 2021. He was rewarded with a two-year, $32 million contract extension, but that was the end of the upward trajectory.
In 2022, the receiver suffered a concussion and an oblique injury. That, combined with the challenges of a new offensive system, limited him to 36 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns. 2023 has looked even worse; despite being healthy, Renfrow has only been targeted seven times through the Raiders' first four games. He's caught five of those passes, totaling 52 yards.
That decline has unsurprisingly led to trade rumors. On September 28, Tashan Reed of The Athletic wrote about those whispers and even featured a quote from Renfrow.
"Those rumors have been going on since last year, right?" Renfrow said. "So, I knew this offseason, let's control things you can control, and let's be a great teammate. And if I do that, then the rest will take care of itself. I'll look back at this time and say—whether I was traded or I wasn't—it didn't matter because I was being a great teammate and I was trying to make the most of my opportunity."
The Raiders Have Made Renfrow Look Undesirable
Given that the Raiders are paying upward of $11 million per season for a receiver who barely figures into their offense, trading Renfrow seems logical. There is a problem though: The team has tanked their own player's value.
Put it this way. You can only sell (or trade) something for the price that someone is willing to pay. And if you're an NFL general manager, you're not exactly chomping at the bit to acquire Renfrow.
Could the wideout be a nice complementary piece to your puzzle? Sure, but he's not going to be the top weapon on a Super Bowl-winning roster. He's had only one top-tier season, and, if the current campaign is any indication, the Raiders see some reason why he shouldn't be a key part of their offense.
Add the price tag—the receiver carries a $13 million-plus cap hit this season and next—and it's easy to see why opposing teams aren't starting a bidding war for Renfrow's services.
Some reports seem to underscore the bind in which Vegas' brass finds itself. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, "The Raiders have been busy making calls around the league looking for a pass rusher since releasing Chandler Jones. They are looking for a player-for-player swap and may not want to give up too much."
You'd think that Renfrow would be a perfect candidate to send the other way in a potential deal, but the Raiders haven't exactly placed him in the storefront. As each game passes, the receiver probably looks less appealing to opposing teams.
Another nugget of Russini's reporting can paint an even fuller picture.
"Carolina has been calling around about a wide receiver and other positions," she shared. "The Panthers hinted to other teams that they are not interested in trading away players for draft picks."
While that report isn't directly connected to the Raiders, Renfrow is a receiver who would theoretically be available. And while Carolina could trade linebacker Brian Burns, he'd be worth more than Renfrow in return. Vegas hasn't exactly done a good job of marketing the receiver as someone who could help a struggling Bryce Young.
Could a cut-rate deal materialize before the deadline? Sure, but even that isn't an ideal solution from an asset-management perspective.
The Raiders, on the back of a successful season, gave Renfrow a raise. Circumstances slowed him down, and now, for whatever reason, the club isn't featuring him in their offense. While it would be foolish to force a player into the offense simply to trade him, there has to be a balance between the two extremes.
If you're not going to use the receiver, after all, why would someone else pay for him?
So, unless something changes, it looks like Las Vegas will either be stuck holding the financial bag (whether that's in terms of salary or dead money after a future cut) or have to move Renfrow at a cut-rate price.
As an organization, neither outcome is ideal.
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