FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed unrestricted free agent wide receiver Reche Caldwell today. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Caldwell, 26, will enter his fifth NFL season in 2006 and joins the Patriots after spending his first four seasons with the San Diego Chargers. The 6-foot, 215-pound wide receiver has played in 47 career games with 14 starts and has caught 76 passes for 950 yards and seven touchdowns. He has recorded seven career catches of 30 yards or longer. Last season with the Chargers, Caldwell established career highs with 28 receptions and 352 yards while playing in all 16 games with two starts.
The Tampa, Fla. native was originally drafted by the Chargers in the second round (48th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft out of the University of Florida. As a rookie in 2002, Caldwell played in every game and earned two starts while recording 22 receptions for 208 yards and three touchdowns, including a game-winning grab in the final minute of a game against Kansas City. He showcased his versatility that season by also returning nine kickoffs for 220 yards, completing a 20-yard pass and recording a pair of special teams tackles. In 2003, Caldwell played in nine games with four starts while catching eight passes for 80 yards. In 2004, he started the first six games of the year and led all San Diego wide receivers with 18 receptions for 310 yards and three touchdowns over that span before suffering a season-ending injury on Oct. 17, 2004. Just two weeks earlier, Caldwell had turned in the most productive game of his career, totaling 110 yards on three catches against the Tennessee Titans (10/3/04), including a career-long 58-yard touchdown reception. Last season, Caldwell played in every game (starting two) and set career highs in receptions (28) and receiving yards (352). He set a season high with 97 yards on four catches against Philadelphia (10/23/05), and added a 28-yard touchdown catch against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium (10/02/05).
CAREER STATISTICS:
| Regular Season | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||
| Year | Team | G/S | No | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD | No | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| 2002 | Chargers | 16/2 | 22 | 208 | 9.5 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 6 | 0 |
| 2003 | Chargers | 9/4 | 8 | 80 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 39 | 7.8 | 14 | 0 |
| 2004 | Chargers | 6/6 | 18 | 310 | 17.2 | 58t | 3 | 4 | 45 | 11.3 | 20 | 0 |
| 2005 | Chargers | 16/2 | 28 | 352 | 12.6 | 43 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
|
| ||||||||||||
| Totals | 47/14 | 76 | 950 | 12.5 | 58t | 7 | 13 | 103 | 7.9 | 20 | 0 | |
| Regular Season | Kick Returns | Punt Returns | |||||||||||
| Year | Team | G/S | No | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD | No | FC | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD |
| 2002 | Chargers | 16/2 | 9 | 220 | 24.4 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -2 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | Chargers | 9/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | Chargers | 6/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | Chargers | 16/2 | 3 | 99 | 33 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
| |||||||||||||
| Totals | 47/14 | 12 | 319 | 26.6 | 60 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | |
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS:
2002 Passing - 1 att, 1 cmp, 20 yds, 0 TD
