Reche Caldwell

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Reche Caldwell
Date of birth	March 28, 1979
Place of birth	Tampa, FL
Position(s)	Wide receiver
College	Florida
NFL Draft	2002 / Round 2
Team(s)
2002-2005 2006-present	San Diego Chargers New England Patriots

Donald Reche Caldwell, Jr. (born March 28, 1979 in Tampa, Florida) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He is the older brother of current Florida Gators receiver Andre Caldwell. His nickname is "Headlights" Caldwell, for his rather large eyes (a trait noted by broadcasters John Madden and Al Michaels, and which he shares with his brother).

[edit] High School Career

Caldwell earned All American honors from PrepStar at Jefferson High School in Tampa and was named the state’s 5A Player of Year in 1996 as a junior. He was first-team all-state in 1996 and second-team in 1997. He was surprised to earn District MVP in 1996 and 1997.

[edit] College Years

Caldwell attended the University of Florida and was a letterman in football. In football, as a junior, he was an All-American third-team selection by The National Sports Bureau, was named a honorable mention All-American selection by the Football News, was a semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given to nation’s top receiver, and second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection. He finished his impressive junior season with 65 receptions for 1,059 yards (16.3 avg.) and 10 touchdowns, and surprisingly became only the ninth player in school history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in single season.

[edit] NFL Career

Caldwell was drafted in the 2002 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. In his rookie season he had 22 catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns, and returned nine kickoffs for 24.4-yard average. In 2003, he played in nine games with four starts for the Chargers and was inactive for seven games. He caught eight passes for 80 yards and rushed for 39 yards on five carries.

His 2004 season got off to a promising start, as he had caught three touchdowns in the first five games. But in a game against the Atlanta Falcons in week 6, he was surprised to suffer a knee injury (ACL) and was lost for the season. He returned to play a full season in 2005, but his role was greatly reduced thanks to the surprise addition of Keenan McCardell and the continued emergence of TE Antonio Gates.

Because he had fallen out of favor with the Chargers, they did not re-sign him when he became a free agent after the 2005 season. He was then signed by the New England Patriots in 2006. Thanks to the offseason departure of WR David Givens and a holdout and eventual departure of Deion Branch, Caldwell is currently the team's number one wide receiver, with over 60 catches and 700 yards on the season.

Caldwell had perhaps the game of his career against his former team in the Patriots' 24-21 victory over his former team the Chargers on January 14, 2007 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Caldwell had 7 receptions for 80 yards, including his four yard touchdown reception from quarterback Tom Brady in the fourth quarter that eventually led to the surprise of a tying two-point conversion.

Caldwell did not repeat his stellar performance in the AFC Conference Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. On a key play late in the game with nobody covering him, he proceeded to surprise himself by dropping a pass, the New England Patriots had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown. Caldwell had two drops late in the game as the Indianapolis Colts came back to win. Caldwell seemed surprised at the outcome.