3 Lions players you may have forgotten about from the Jim Caldwell era

1. WR Anquan Boldin (2016)

Boldin held the rookie record for receptions (101) from 2003 until Jaylen Waddle broke it last year. In 14 NFL seasons for four teams, he had less than 60 catches once– 56 over 10 games with the Arizona Cardinals in 2004. He is ninth on the all-time list in career receptions (1,076), with 13,779 career receiving yards (14th all-time).

Boldin landed with the Lions in 2016 for his age-36 season. He played and started all 16 games, with 67 catches (second on the team) for 584 yards and team-leading eight touchdowns. His ability after the catch was gone, as evidenced by that 8.7 yards per catch average, but he was a  reliable target for Matthew Stafford in the red zone (15 red zone receptions, second-most in the league) and overall (second-best catch rate of his career, 70.5 percent).

Boldin abruptly retired after signing a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills in 2017, citing an intent to focus on his humanitarian work. He probably had something left in the tank, in the proper role entering what would have been his age-37 season, based on what he did with the Lions the season before.

As a long-time Boldin fan, aided by him helping me to fantasy football success, I remembered he played for the Lions. But many others probably don’t remember he donned the Honolulu Blue at the very end of what should be a Hall of Fame-worthy career.