Rakeem Nathan Nuñez-Roches (born 3 July 1993) is a Belizean professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

in the sixth round (217th overall) of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

High school career

Nuñez-Roches migrated with his family from Belize to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

when he was eight years old He attended Central High School in

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee R ...

where he started to play football. For his

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

career, he recorded 132 career

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, 17 sacks, and four forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

s. In football, he was rated as a three-star defensive lineman by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, as well as two stars from

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and

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. He was selected Second-team All-Area by the ''

Opelika-Auburn News The ''Opelika-Auburn News'' is a daily newspaper in Alabama, serving Opelika, Auburn, and the surrounding communities. History The newspaper began as the weekly ''Opelika Industrial News'', on September 11, 1890. On May 30, 1904, the newspa ...

'' and was an Alabama Top 50 player.

College career

Nuñez-Roches played at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

from 2011 to 2014 where he

majored An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

. As a freshman in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, he appeared in six games and was named to the

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

All-Freshman team. For the 2011 season, he recorded two tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. As a sophomore in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, he started 11 of 12 games, his only non-start being Southern Miss'

senior night Senior day or senior night (depending on the time the game is held) is a term used in high school sports and college sports, most notably football and basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players ...

game against

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

. For the 2012 season, he recorded 37 tackles, of which 22 were solo, six tackles-for-loss, one sack, and one forced fumble. As a junior in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, he started the first two games of the season, before suffering a season-ending injury, which earned him a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

. For the season, he recorded eight tackles, of which two were solo, and 0.5 tackles-for-loss. As a redshirt junior in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he appeared in 11 games. He recorded 63 tackles (35 solo), 15 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, and one forced fumble. Following the 2014 season, he decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and entered the

College statistics

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

2015

Nuñez-Roches was drafted in the sixth round with the 217th overall pick in the

by the

. He was the first Belizean born player to ever be drafted in the NFL. On 11 May, he signed his rookie contract with the Chiefs. In the 2015 season, he appeared in seven games and recorded four solo tackles.

2016

On 17 September 2016, Nuñez-Roches was released by the Chiefs. He was signed to the practice squad on 20 September 2016. He was signed to the active roster on 18 October 2016. On 8 December, he recorded his first career sack against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He appeared in eleven games and started five for the Chiefs in the 2016 season.

2017

In 2017, Nuñez-Roches played in all 16 games with 11 starts, recording 24 total tackles.

2018

On 14 March 2018, the Chiefs placed an original-round restricted free agent tender on Nuñez-Roches allowing him to negotiate with another team; however, the Chiefs have an option the match the contract. If they chose not to, they will receive a 6th round draft pick as compensation. On 29 April 2018, Nuñez-Roches officially re-signed with the Chiefs after no other teams made an offer. He was released by the Chiefs on 8 May 2018.

Indianapolis Colts

On 11 May 2018, Nuñez-Roches was claimed off waivers by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He was waived on 1 September 2018.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On 2 October 2018, Nuñez-Roches was signed by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He appeared in only three games for the remainder of the 2018 season. On 15 March 2019, Nuñez-Roches was re-signed by the Buccaneers. He played in all 16 games but was used as a rotational player defensively for the 2019 season. On 20 March 2020, Nuñez-Roches was re-signed by the Buccaneers. He finished the 2020 season with 20 tackles in 16 games, of which he started 11. The Buccaneers finished with an 11–5 record for a wild card spot and eventually won

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

by a score of 31–9 over the

. On 20 March 2021, Nuñez-Roches was re-signed by the Buccaneers. In the 2021 season, he appeared in 16 games and started one. He had 17 total tackles and one forced fumble. In the 2022 season, he appeared in all 17 games, of which he started ten. He finished with two sacks and 33 total tackles.

New York Giants

On 17 March 2023, Nuñez-Roches signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Born in

Dangriga Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the Dangriga Airpo ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, Nuñez-Roches is fluent in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...

References

External links

New York Giants bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez-Roches, Rakeem 1993 births Living people People from Dangriga Belizean emigrants to the United States Belizean players of American football Garifuna people American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Kansas City Chiefs players Indianapolis Colts players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Giants players