Reche Caldwell
Encyclopedia
Donald Reche Caldwell, Jr. (rɨˈʃeɪ; born March 28, 1979) is a former American college and professional football
player who was a wide receiver
in the National Football League
(NFL) for six seasons in the early 2000s. Caldwell played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the San Diego Chargers
, New England Patriots
and Washington Redskins
of the NFL.
in 1979. He attended Jefferson High School
in Tampa, and played high school football
for the Jefferson Dragons. Caldwell earned All-American honors from PrepStar and was named the Florida Class 5A Player of the Year as a junior in 1996. He was a first-team all-state selection in 1996 and a second-team selection in 1997.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he was a three-year letterman for coach Steve Spurrier
's Florida Gators football
team from 1998 to 2001
. 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. He finished his impressive junior season with sixty-five reception
s for 1,059 yards (an average of 16.3 yards per catch) and ten touchdowns, becoming only the ninth receiver in Gators history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. Caldwell majored in leisure service management.
by the San Diego Chargers
, and he played for the Chargers for four seasons from to . 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. 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.
His season began with three touchdown receptions in the Chargers' first five games. 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. He returned to play a full season in 2005
. Yet, the Chargers did not re-sign Caldwell after 2005.
prior to the season. He went on to total over 60 catches and 700 yards on the season. During a playoff game against the Chargers, Caldwell had 7 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
.
in September 2007. During the season, he appeared in eight games for the Redskins with fifteen receptions for 141 yards.
. However, it was short-lived as he was released during the final preseason roster cuts.
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. He also tallied fourteen carries for 108 yards rushing.
, former Florida Gators star and current wide receiver for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for six seasons in the early 2000s. Caldwell played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
and Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
of the NFL.
Early years
Caldwell was born in Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
in 1979. He attended Jefferson High School
Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida)
Thomas Jefferson High School is a secondary school located in the heart of the Westshore Business District of Tampa, Florida. Thomas Jefferson High School is an Area 1 high school operated under the Hillsborough County Public School system.-School history:...
in Tampa, and played high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
for the Jefferson Dragons. Caldwell earned All-American honors from PrepStar and was named the Florida Class 5A Player of the Year as a junior in 1996. He was a first-team all-state selection in 1996 and a second-team selection in 1997.
College career
Caldwell received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he was a three-year letterman for coach Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1998 to 2001
2001 Florida Gators football team
The 2001 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2001 college football season...
. 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
Fred Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award has been presented since 1994 to America's top college football receiver by the TQC Foundation, Inc. , an independent not-for-profit organization which created the award in 1994 and has sponsored it since...
(annually given to nation's top receiver), and a second-team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
selection. He finished his impressive junior season with sixty-five reception
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
s for 1,059 yards (an average of 16.3 yards per catch) and ten touchdowns, becoming only the ninth receiver in Gators history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. Caldwell majored in leisure service management.
San Diego Chargers
Caldwell was selected in the second round (forty-eighth choice overall) in the 2002 NFL Draft2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...
by the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and he played for the Chargers for four seasons from to . 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. In 2003
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
, 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.
His season began with three touchdown receptions in the Chargers' first five games. However, in a game against the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Week 6, Caldwell suffered a knee injury, tearing his Anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
(ACL), and was lost for the season. He returned to play a full season in 2005
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
. Yet, the Chargers did not re-sign Caldwell after 2005.
New England Patriots
Caldwell subsequently signed with the New England PatriotsNew England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
prior to the season. He went on to total over 60 catches and 700 yards on the season. During a playoff game against the Chargers, Caldwell had 7 receptions for 80 yards, including a four-yard touchdown reception from quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
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
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. Caldwell was released by the Patriots four days before the first game of the 2007 season
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
.
Washington Redskins
Caldwell signed a one-year contract with the Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in September 2007. During the season, he appeared in eight games for the Redskins with fifteen receptions for 141 yards.
St. Louis Rams
On March 25, 2008, Caldwell signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis RamsSt. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. However, it was short-lived as he was released during the final preseason roster cuts.
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. He also tallied fourteen carries for 108 yards rushing.
Personal
Caldwell is the older bother of Andre CaldwellAndre Caldwell
Andre Jerome "Bubba" Caldwell is an American professional football player who is a wide receiver in the National Football League . Caldwell played college football for the University of Florida, and currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL.-Early years:Caldwell was born in Tampa,...
, former Florida Gators star and current wide receiver for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1990–1999
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of New England Patriots players
- List of Washington Redskins players