Reche Caldwell, who played four seasons for the San Diego Chargers and then haunted them with a pair of key plays as a member of the New England Patriots, was shot and killed Saturday in Tampa, TMZ Sports reported. He was 41.
Caldwell’s mother, Deborah, told TMZ her son was getting ready to take his girlfriend out when he went back inside his home to grab a jacket. His girlfriend said Caldwell was “ambushed” by a “couple of people” who jumped out of bushes trying to rob him.
He died in the ambulance on the way to a hospital, Deborah Caldwell said.
“He was a good person who smiled all of the time,” Deborah Caldwell told TMZ. “He tried to help everyone he could. He was the type of guy who would take his shirt off his back and give it to you.”
Some of Caldwell’s former teams shared the news on Twitter, including the Chargers.
Caldwell was a second-round draft choice of the Chargers out of Florida in 2002 and played four seasons with the team. He caught just 76 es and scored seven touchdowns for the team and is probably ed most by Chargers fans for what he did after leaving the team.
In a January 2007 playoff game against New England, Caldwell recovered a fumble by Marlon McCree after an interception with 6:16 left and the Chargers leading 21-13. Less than two minutes later, Caldwell caught a 4-yard touchdown from Tom Brady and a subsequent 2-point conversion run by Kevin Faulk tied the game at 21.
Caldwell wasn’t finished burning his former team. After New England got the ball back, Caldwell beat Quentin Jammer for a 49-yard on third-and-10 to put the Patriots in position to kick the winning field goal with 1:10 remaining. He finished the game with seven catches for 80 yards.
That was Caldwell’s only season with New England (61 catches); he was released just before the 2008 season. He played his final season in 2008 for Washington, catching 15 es in eight games.
Caldwell ran into trouble after his career. He was arrested for illegal gambling in January 2014 and for drug possession and intent to distribute in May 2014. He later was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and three years probation.
Last December, he was accused of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and in January pleaded guilty. He was scheduled to be sentenced this month.
