Justin Hunter

Early years

Hunter was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He attended Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach where he played football and basketball and ran track for the Ocean Lakes Dolphins. As a junior in 2008, he caught 34 passes for 545 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a senior in 2009, he caught 46 passes for 714 yards and 9 touchdowns. He was ranked as the eighth best wide receiver recruit and 75th best overall prospect in his class by Rivals.com.

As a track and field athlete, Hunter was an accomplished jumper. He was ranked by Track & Field News as the third best long jumper, seventh best high jumper and fourteenth best triple jumper. He won Virginia state titles in long jump and high jump and settled for second place in the triple jump. His best long jump, 25'10¾", qualified him for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics.

College career

Hunter enrolled in the University of Tennessee, where he played for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 2010 to 2012 and competed for one season on Tennessee's track and field team. As a true freshman in 2010, Hunter started two of 13 games and had 16 receptions for 415 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging a team-leading 25.9 yards per catch. His first touchdown reception was a 35-yard reception that came on a fourth-down play against Florida. Coming off the bench against Georgia, he caught four passes for 110 yards. In his second career start against Ole Miss, he caught three passes for 114 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. He was named to the Coaches' All-SEC Freshman Team.

In track and field, Hunter set a Tennessee freshman record with a long jump measuring 26'1½". He was named a First Team All-American by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in the event and was also named to the SEC Indoor All-Freshman Team.

Hunter started the first three games of his sophomore season in 2011 before tearing his ACL on his first catch in the game against Florida, which caused him to miss the rest of the season. The injury also forced him to quit competing in track and field after one season. For his limited season, he had 17 receptions for 314 yards with two touchdowns. He caught 6 passes for 146 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown, against Montana in the first game of the season. Against Cincinnati, he caught 10 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. At the time of his injury, he was leading the SEC in receptions per game and receiving yards per game.

Hunter started all 12 games in the 2012 season, and caught 73 passes for 1,083 yards and 9 touchdowns. He was third in the SEC in both total receiving yards and receiving yards per game. His total of 73 catches was the second-highest in school history for a single season (Marcus Nash had 76 in 1997). In the season-opener against N.C. State, he had 9 catches for 73 yards. Against Missouri, he caught 9 passes for 181 yards, his eighth career game with more than 100 yards receiving. After the 2012 season, he was named to the Coaches' All-SEC Second Team.

On January 9, 2013, Hunter, along with college teammates Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Bray, and Darrington Sentimore, announced his intention to leave college early and declare for the 2013 NFL Draft.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans selected Hunter in the second round (34th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.

On June 13, 2013, the Titans signed Hunter to a four-year, $5.42 million contract with $3.43 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.32 million.

On September 22, 2013, he recorded his first career NFL reception, a 34-yard touchdown that would prove the game-winning score in the Titans' 20-17 win over San Diego. He caught his second career pass for a 16-yard touchdown against the New York Jets the following week. In the Titans' 23-19 win over the Oakland Raiders on November 24, Hunter caught six passes for 109 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown. He posted another strong game two weeks later against Denver, catching 4 passes for 114 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown reception and a 57-yard catch that set up the Titans' first touchdown. On Monday, November 16, 2015, Hunter was added to the Season-Ending Injury Reserve list after having surgery the day before to repair a fractured ankle suffered in the team's previous game in which they lost to the Carolina Panthers

The Titans waived Hunter on September 2, 2016.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins claimed Hunter off waivers on September 4, 2016. On September 15, 2016, he agreed to take a $387,389 paycut, in order to stay with the Dolphins. He was released by the team on September 28, 2016.

Buffalo Bills

Hunter was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills after Sammy Watkins was placed on injured reserve on September 30, 2016.

Hunter made his Buffalo Bills debut on October 9, 2016 against the Los Angeles Rams and finished with one catch for 4 yards and a touchdown. The following week, he caught his second catch and touchdown with Buffalo on a 30-yard reception from Tyrod Taylor as the Bills went on to beat the San Francisco 49ers 45-16. On November 27, 2016, Hunter caught a game-winning 16-yard touchdown pass from Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor and helped the Bills defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-21.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 15, 2017, Hunter signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Personal life

On July 20, 2015, Hunter turned himself into Virginia Beach police following a large bar fight which occurred on July 3 in Virginia Beach. He was arrested and held without bond. On January 28, 2017, Hunter and his long term girlfriend, with whom he has two children, became engaged.