Ex-NFL receiver Reche Caldwell in running for worst criminal ever
Reche Caldwell was a fair-to-middling NFL wide receiver. But as a criminal, he was truly awful.
In a lengthy takeout feature, ESPN has detailed the strange crime spree that followed Caldwell’s career in the league for seven years. Let’s just say that he might not have been special on the field, but he certainly was better at that than he was trying to break the law.
Although Caldwell’s post college peak came when he became Tom Brady’s most trusted receiver on the 2006 New England Patriots, it was one of the least-talented groups Brady ever threw to — and yet that team still almost made the Super Bowl that year. But it was Caldwell and his two key drops in the AFC championship game loss to the Indianapolis Colts, who went on to win the Super Bowl, that defined his career. A season later, after wallowing with the Washington Redskins, Caldwell was out of the NFL.
From there, he went back to Tampa, where he grew up and was still revered to a degree, and opened a not-so-secret gambling ring. Caldwell got in deep, and soon the word got out that he and a large crew of his pals were betting on — among other things — NFL games. Perhaps the fact that it was stationed right near an elementary school wasn’t the brightest of ideas in the first place, or the fact that Caldwell parked his bright red jeep out front almost daily.
“I see now, yup, not the greatest location for that kind of thing,” Caldwell said with a chuckle. “Too big, too fast. I laugh at my stuff too. What else can you do? I have to laugh. I really thought I was some kind of a criminal? All I know is, everyone kept telling me, ‘The police don’t care about this stuff, you’ll never get caught,’ and the next thing I know I’m headed to prison, saying goodbye to my kids, wondering: ‘What happened to me?'”
Caldwell and his buddies got sloppy and soon started taking bets from undercover cops. As Caldwell was watching his former team, the San Diego Chargers, beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2013 postseason, the betting parlor was being raided and Caldwell detained, a half-eaten sandwich ripped from his hand and the front door flattened by a tank.
One day you’re catching touchdowns from Brady. The next you’re being interrogated by a bitter FBI agent with a Boston accent.
“You’re that guy who cost Tommy anudda Soupa Bowl,” Caldwell said, doing his best impression before turning serious. “What else can I do? It’s not like I was trying to drop those passes.”
After being released, Caldwell clearly was undaunted. He was busted again — this time for searching “MDMA-Molly-China” on the internet, ordering what he assumed were illegal drugs, having almost five pounds of the stuff shipped to his door, tracking the package online and then signing his real name for it when it arrived. Naturally, a SWAT team was lying in wait. Once more, Caldwell had been pinched.
He thought: “Aw, man, not again.”
But yes, Caldwell was sent to prison for that, too. And he’s serving a 27-month sentence, which his attorney said looked like it actually caused relief in his client when he was sentenced. After all, crime wasn’t paying off too well. Caldwell’s mother agreed.
“Good lord that boy was a bad criminal,” she said, “and thank Jesus for that.”
He’s now telling his story and sounds like a man who realized his many missteps. Caldwell is eligible to be moved to a Tampa-based work-release facility, where he can be closer to his son and perhaps celebrate his little brother’s Super Bowl victory as a member of the Denver Broncos back in February (Andre Caldwell is now with the Detroit Lions).
“I’m not gonna blame football or concussions like everybody else for my mistakes,” Reche said. “I don’t blame my education or my hometown or my family. I have a great family. I had a great childhood. I grew up in a great place. This is about losing my way, being around bad people and making bad choices, and that’s all on me.”
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
