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

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

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

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of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in the sixth round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Early life

Nuñez-Roches migrated with his family from Belize to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

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 ...

where he started to play football. For his

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

career, he recorded 132 career tackles, 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 h ...

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

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, as well as two stars from Rivals.com and Scout.com. He was selected Second-team All-Area by the '' Opelika-Auburn News'' and was an Alabama Top 50 player.

College career

Nuñez-Roches played at the University of Southern Mississippi from 2011 to 2014 where he majored in

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

. As a freshman in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he appeared in six games and was named to the

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

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

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, he started 11 of 12 games, his only non-start being Southern Miss' senior night game against UTEP. 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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, 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: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

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

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, 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 selected in the sixth round with the 217th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft 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 based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. 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, Nuñez-Roches officially re-signed with the Chiefs after no other teams made an offer. He was released by the Chiefs on 8 May.

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was waived on 1 September.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. 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 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

. In the 2023 season, Nuñez-Roches appeared in 16 games and started four. He finished with a half-sack, 26 total tackles, and one pass defended. In the 2024 season, Nuñez-Roches appeared in and started 15 games. He finished with two sacks, 52 tackles, and two passes defended.

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 Sea, 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 ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern 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 maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, Nuñez-Roches is fluent in both English and Garifuna.

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