Reche Caldwell

Donald Reche Caldwell Jr. (/rɪˈʃeɪ/ rih-SHAY or /ˈriːʃeɪ/ REE-shay;[1] March 28, 1979 – June 6, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons in the 2000s with the San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots and Washington Redskins. Caldwell played college football for the Florida Gators.

Reche Caldwell
Caldwell with the Patriots in 2006
No. 82, 87, 86
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born:(1979-03-28)March 28, 1979
Tampa, Florida
Died:June 6, 2020(2020-06-06) (aged 41)
Tampa, Florida
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Thomas Jefferson
(Tampa, Florida)
College:Florida
NFL Draft:2002 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:152
Receiving yards:1,851
Receiving touchdowns:11
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Caldwell was born in Tampa, Florida, in 1979.[2] He attended Jefferson High School in Tampa,[3] where he was a three-sport standout in high school football, basketball and baseball for the Jefferson Dragons.[4] In football, Caldwell started at tailback as a freshman; as a sophomore, he converted to quarterback—a position he had never played—and threw for 6,936 yards and 77 touchdowns as a three-year starter.[4] As a junior in 1996, he threw for 2,338 yards, led the Dragons to the Class 5A state semifinal game, earned high school All-American honors from PrepStar, and was named the Florida Class 5A Player of the Year.[4][5] He was a first-team all-state selection in 1996 and a second-team selection in 1997.[5]

In four high school baseball seasons, he set the Jefferson Dragons' career records for batting average (.379), doubles (25), triples (six), steals (67) and runs (76).[4] The Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 1998 MLB draft, but he decided to play college football instead.[4]

College career

Caldwell accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville,[5] where he was a three-year letterman for coach Steve Spurrier's Gators teams from 1998 to 2001.[6] As a junior in 2001, he was a third-team All-American selection by The National Sports Bureau, an honorable mention All-American selection by the Football News, a semi-finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award (annually given to nation's top receiver), and a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.[6] He finished his impressive junior season with sixty-five receptions for 1,059 yards (an average of 16.3 yards per catch) and ten touchdowns,[5] becoming only the ninth receiver in Gators history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a single season.[6] Caldwell majored in leisure service management.[5]

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Caldwell was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft with the 48th overall pick.[7] He played for the Chargers for four seasons from 2002 to 2005.[8] In his rookie season, he had twenty-two catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns and returned nine kickoffs for a 24.4-yard average.[2] In 2003, he played in nine games with four starts for the Chargers; he caught eight passes for eighty yards and rushed for thirty-nine yards on five carries.[8]

His 2004 season began with three touchdown receptions in the Chargers' first five games.[2] However, in a game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6, Caldwell suffered a knee injury, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and was lost for the season.[9] He returned to play a full season in 2005.[10]

New England Patriots

Caldwell subsequently signed with the New England Patriots prior to the 2006 season. He went on to total over 60 catches and 700 yards on the season. During a playoff game against the Chargers, Caldwell had seven receptions for 80 yards, including a four-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Tom Brady in the fourth quarter. A week later in the AFC Championship game, he dropped two passes during the Patriots' 38–34 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Caldwell was released by the Patriots four days before the first game of the 2007 season.[11]

Washington Redskins

Caldwell signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins in September 2007.[12] During the 2007 season, he appeared in eight games for the Redskins with fifteen receptions for 141 yards.[8]

St. Louis Rams

On March 25, 2008, Caldwell signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Rams.[13] However, he was released during the final preseason roster cuts.[14]

In his six-season NFL career, Caldwell appeared in seventy-one games, starting in twenty-nine of them, while making 152 receptions for 1,851 yards and eleven touchdowns.[2] He also tallied fourteen carries for 108 yards rushing.[2]

Personal life

Caldwell was the older brother of Andre Caldwell, former Florida Gators wide receiver and NFL wide receiver and kick returner.[15]

On May 14, 2014, Caldwell was arrested for drug possession and intent to distribute.[16] On January 30, 2015, he was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and three years probation for possession of MDMA with intent to distribute. In addition, he pleaded guilty to drug charges involving marijuana and ecstasy, along with charges involving gambling.[17][18]

On December 12, 2019, Caldwell was accused by the Justice Department of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.[19] He pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit health fraud on January 23, 2020, and was set to be sentenced in June 2020.[20]

Death

Caldwell was shot and killed on June 6, 2020.[21][22] According to his mother, the shooting occurred during an attempted robbery.[23] Police reported that the killing did not appear to be random, and that the apparent robbery may have been planned.[24]

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See also

References
  1. "Numerical Roster" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2015.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Reche Caldwell. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  3. databaseFootball.com, Players, Reche Caldwell Archived May 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  4. Joey Knight, "Tampa Bay's All-Century Team: No. 67 Reche Caldwell Archived 2002-11-03 at the Wayback Machine," The Tampa Tribune (October 20, 1999). Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  5. GatorZone.com, Football History, 2001 Roster, Reche Caldwell. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  6. 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 77, 80, 85, 89, 97, 139, 143–145, 148, 158, 180 (2011). Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  7. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 2002 National Football League Draft. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  8. National Football League, Historical Players, Reche Caldwell. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  9. "Caldwell done with torn ACL". ESPN.com. October 20, 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  10. "Reche Caldwell Career Stats | NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  11. "Patriots see Moss, Samuel practice: Caldwell cut," ESPN (September 5, 2007). Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  12. Jason La Canfora, "Caldwell Signs; Jansen Is Officially Out for the Year," The Washington Post (September 12, 2007). Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  13. Walker, Mollie (June 7, 2020). "Former NFL receiver Reche Caldwell shot and killed at 41". New York Post. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  14. "Former Patriot wide receiver Caldwell killed". providencejournal.com. June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  15. GatorZone.com, Football History, 2007 Roster, Andre Caldwell Archived October 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  16. "Former NFL WR Reche Caldwell arrested with 4.8 pounds of ecstasy - CBSSports.com". March 4, 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  17. "Reche Caldwell sentenced to 27 months". Tampa Bay Times.
  18. "Former Patriot Reche Caldwell Pleads Guilty To Mailing Ecstasy | New England Patriots | NESN.com".
  19. Kilgore, Adam. "Clinton Portis among 10 former players charged with defrauding NFL health care program". Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  20. Estep, Bill (January 27, 2020). "More former NFL players pleading guilty in health fraud case in Kentucky". Kentucky.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  21. "Former NFL receiver Caldwell killed in Florida". ESPN.com. June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  22. Baker, Matt. "Ex-NFL, Gators receiver Reche Caldwell killed in Tampa shooting". The Hamilton Spectator. The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  23. Florio, Mike (June 7, 2020). "Reche Caldwell has been killed in a shooting". NBCSports.com. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  24. "Ex-NFL, Gators receiver Reche Caldwell killed in Tampa shooting". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
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