Former New York Jets tight end and wide receiver Richard Caster, who was selected for three Pro Bowls during his 13-year NFL career, has passed away. He was 75.
The death was communicated to the Clarion Ledger on Sunday by James Hartfield, a former teammate of Mr. Caster’s at Jackson State University.
“I am really sad to hear about his passing,” Mr. Hartfield said. “He was a great person and great wide receiver.”
Family representative Kenny Zore confirmed Mr. Caster died in his sleep on Friday morning in Long Island, New York, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Mr. Caster began his football career at Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama, before joining Jackson State, where he played for four years, first under coach Rod Paige, then Ulysses McPherson.
He was a second-round pick of the Jets in 1970, a team where he would spend the next eight seasons, becoming a favorite target of Joe Namath.
The 6-foot-5, 228-pound Caster entered the league as a wide receiver but was later switched to tight end by coach Weeb Ewbank because of his combined size and speed—running the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.
“The general approach from most teams defensively was to try to cover the tight end with a linebacker,” Mr. Caster recalled in an interview with the Jets’ website in 2018. “And I could outrun most linebackers or any linebacker that I ever ran into, really. But it was pretty much not a secret. ‘OK, let’s see how this matches up, if it holds up.’ It didn’t hold up.”
“I ran away from most of the people that I had a chance to get away from. It was all around getting a good matchup.”
During his eight seasons for the Jets, he caught 245 passes for 4,434 yards and scored 36 touchdowns. His 4,434 yards receiving with New York firmly rank 10th on the franchise’s career list.
In Week 2 of the 1972 season, Mr. Caster caught three of Mr. Namath’s six touchdown passes and finished with six receptions for 204 yards in New York’s 44-34 victory over Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts. Mr. Caster set personal records with 833 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns during that season.
All of Mr. Caster’s Pro Bowls were made with the Jets: in 1972, ‘74, and ’75, when he caught a career-high 47 passes.
From 1978 to 1980, Mr. Caster played for Houston before splitting the 1981 season with New Orleans and Washington. He played in one game for the Washington team that won the Super Bowl to cap the 1982 season, playing 161 games in total with 119 starts.
“I’m most proud of being able to play as long as I did, getting 13 years in the league during a period where the career average was a heck of a lot less than 13,” Caster told the Jets’ website.
“When I came in, I think it was somewhere around two, 2 1/2 years. I was real proud of my ability to still have some talent where I was able to be traded and signed late in my career to bring some value to some teams.”
Mr. Caster is survived by his wife, Susan; three sons—Richard J., Max, and Sean; two daughters, Shannon Myla and Alona Nicole; and five grandchildren. Max Caste is a professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling.
