Hunter Renfrow suffers significant rib injury
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow suffered a ribs injury Sunday that will keep him out for “a while,” coach Jon Gruden said Monday.
NFL Network reported Renfrow suffered a broken rib and punctured lung. Gruden declined to go into specifics on the injury or set a specific timetable for Renfrow’s potential return, saying the wide receiver has more tests to undergo.
Still, Gruden called Renfrow’s injury “a big, big loss for us.”
“We’ve had a lot of turnover at that position this year. It’s really too bad,” Gruden said. “I’ll say this — Renfrow is going to be a great Raider. He’s really been playing good for us.”
A fifth-round rookie out of Clemson, Renfrow had become one of Carr’s critical targets at wide receiver — particularly on third down. Of Renfrow’s 36 receptions for 396 yards, 16 catches for 216 and both of Renfrow’s touchdowns came on third down, resulting in 13 first downs.
Renfrow caught three passes for 31 yards on five targets during Sunday’s loss. He initially went down after sustaining a hit on an incomplete pass midway through the second quarter. Renfrow re-entered the game, and ended up playing a total of 42 percent of the Raiders’ offensive snaps.
With Renfrow injured, Gruden mentioned wide receiver Keelan Doss, tight end Darren Waller, tight end Derek Carrier and wide receiver Zay Jones as candidates to play slot receiver.
“We’ll see who we plug in there as we prepare for the Chiefs,” Gruden said.
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