Contract talks done, Hunter Renfrow focused on taking Raiders to next level

Hunter Renfrow has increased his catch and yard totals each season and he's looking to push the Raiders further in 2022. (USA TODAY/Trevor Ruzkowski)

by TigerNet Staff - Fri Jun 17 13:23:05 GMT-04:00 2022

Hunter Renfrow didn't want contract talks on his mind in the month-plus to go until training camp starts. A deal for a $32 million two-year extension with the Las Vegas Raiders took care of that last week.

Now he's ready to work.

"This is a good month to reflect and I didn't want to be thinking about contract stuff," Renfrow said recently on a Raiders.com podcast. "I wanted to be thinking about the season. What we need to do to win games to take the next step as we've really been growing. We've been on a journey the last three years since I've been here. With coach (Josh) McDaniels and the new staff, it kinda brings a new element.

"Laying the foundation with that and trying to visualize the season next month. Very thankful and appreciative. It's going to be a fun month trying to ger ready for the season."

The deal is set to include $21 million guaranteed for the 2021 season Pro Bowler, giving him three seasons before the deal comes up.

"It feels amazing," Renfrow said of getting the deal done. "I think gratitude is the first thing that pops up in my mind. Gratitude to my family. Gratitude to my former coaches, former teammates, people who raised me. Raider Nation. Just a whole different level of gratitude and just so honored to be a part of Raider Nation and to carry the tradition and to try to go win as win as many games as we can and each day just get better."

The two-time national champion at Clemson has upped his catches and yards each year in the NFL, going from 49 receptions as a rookie to 56 to 103 and 605 yards to 656 to 1,038 last year. He also tallied a career-best nine touchdown receptions over 17 games last year.

"It's just a daily commitment to getting better. I've had a lot of good coaches," he said. "A lot of good teammates around me that have pushed me and taught me things. Just try to get one thing every day. Try to put in little deposits each day and success finds you along the way."

Renfrow felt led to stay in Vegas instead of exploring free agency in 2023.

"When you decide do you do an extension or play out a year and test the free agency market, you think I could be in Minnesota or I could be here or there or back home closer to home in Carolina. Literally anywhere in the country," the Myrtle Beach native said. "And with so many people you haven't met. The thing I kept going back to was I love my teammates, I love Raider Nation and we love Vegas. For me personally, I felt God was pushing me to Vegas and I'm so glad we got it done."

In his time with the franchise, the Raiders have gone from seven wins to eight to 10 last year. He hopes his draft class can propel the group to even more this season.

"We've got to take the next step," Renfrow said of him and his draft class. "This is what's worked in the past but also here's what we need to do to get where we need to go."