By Ross Jackson
With all the need at wide receiver, even before injuries set in, it has been a bit of a surprise that the New Orleans Saints haven’t brought in or signed veteran wideout Hunter Renfrow.
The team reportedly “got very close” to finalizing a trade for the 28-year-old wideout (turns 29 in December) last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, but the deal ultimately never reached the finish line. Figuring out the financials was the biggest issue, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Okay, but that was for a trade. Since then, Renfrow has spent all offseason and seven weeks of the regular season sitting on the market. It’s not just the Saints that haven’t signed him, no team has. It turns out the reason may be because Renfrow is closer to calling it quits than anything else.
Per FOX Sports NFL Writer Greg Auman, Renfrow may be “closer to retired than unsigned.”
Augman, who covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for much of his career, still has ties there. With the team dealing with the season-long loss of wide receiver Chris Godwin as well as the multi-week loss of wideout Mike Evans, he checked in on potential interest in Renfrow.
He was able to confirm that the Buccaneers had not reached out. And it sounds like, in the process, gained some clarity as to why no team has. the Saints included.
With former quarterback Derek Carr set to return in the coming weeks and the Saints still probably able to benefit from additional wide receiver help, perhaps things could change in the future. New Orleans was clearly interested at one point, and could be still. Augman acknowledged that a comeback for Renfrow could still happen. But at this point it seems like a long shot.
However if there was a place for Renfrow to return to the game and do so comfortably, New Orleans would be atop the list.
