 Nuñez-Roches with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 | |||||||||||||
| No. 93 –New York Giants | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1993-07-03)3 July 1993 (age 31) Dangriga, Belize | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 307 lb (139 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Central(Phenix City, Alabama, U.S.) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Southern Miss (2011–2014) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2015: 6th round, 217th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Rakeem Nathan Nuñez-Roches (born July 3, 1993) is aBelizean professionalAmerican footballdefensive end for theNew York Giants of theNational Football League (NFL). He was selected by theKansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the2015 NFL draft. He playedcollege football for theSouthern Miss Golden Eagles.
Nuñez-Roches migrated with his family from Belize toAlabama when he was eight years old[1] He attended Central High School inPhenix City, Alabama where he started to play football. For hishigh school football career, he recorded 132 careertackles, 17sacks, and four forcedfumbles. In football, he was rated as a three-star defensive lineman byESPN, as well as two stars fromRivals.com andScout.com. He was selected Second-team All-Area by theOpelika-Auburn News and was an Alabama Top 50 player.[2]
Nuñez-Roches played at theUniversity of Southern Mississippi from 2011 to 2014 where hemajored inbiological sciences.[3]
As a freshman in2011, he appeared in six games and was named to theConference USA All-Freshman team. For the 2011 season, he recorded two tackles and 1.5tackles-for-loss.
As a sophomore in2012, he started 11 of 12 games, his only non-start being Southern Miss'senior night game againstUTEP. For the 2012 season, he recorded 37 tackles, of which 22 were solo, six tackles-for-loss, one sack, and one forced fumble.[2]
As a junior in2013, he started the first two games of the season, before suffering a season-ending injury, which earned him a medicalredshirt. For the season, he recorded eight tackles, of which two were solo, and 0.5 tackles-for-loss.[2]
As a redshirt junior in2014, he appeared in 11 games. He recorded 63 tackles (35 solo), 15 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, and one forced fumble.[4] Following the 2014 season, he decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and entered the2015 NFL draft.[5][6]
| Year | Team | GP/GS | Tackles | Sacks | Pass defense | Fumbles | Safeties | TDs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Total | TFL | No | Int | PD | FF | FR | |||||
| 2011 | Southern Miss | 6 / 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Southern Miss | 12 / 11 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Southern Miss | 2 / 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Southern Miss | 11 / 11 | 35 | 28 | 63 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 31 / 24 | 61 | 49 | 110 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) | 307 lb (139 kg) | 32+5⁄8 in (0.83 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 5.02 s | 1.71 s | 2.90 s | 4.69 s | 7.67 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) | 26 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[7][8] | ||||||||||||
Nuñez-Roches was selected in the sixth round with the 217th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft by theKansas City Chiefs.[9] He was the first Belizean born player to ever be drafted in the NFL.[10] On 11 May, he signed his rookie contract with the Chiefs.[11] In the 2015 season, he appeared in seven games and recorded four solo tackles.[12]
On 17 September 2016, Nuñez-Roches was released by the Chiefs.[13] He was signed to thepractice squad on 20 September 2016.[14] He was signed to the active roster on 18 October 2016.[15] On 8 December, he recorded his first career sack against theOakland Raiders.[16] He appeared in eleven games and started five for the Chiefs in the 2016 season.[17]
In 2017, Nuñez-Roches played in all 16 games with 11 starts, recording 24 total tackles.[18]
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.[19] On 29 April, Nuñez-Roches officially re-signed with the Chiefs after no other teams made an offer.[20] He was released by the Chiefs on 8 May.[21]
On 11 May 2018, Nuñez-Roches was claimed off waivers by theIndianapolis Colts.[22] He was waived on 1 September.[23]
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On 2 October 2018, Nuñez-Roches was signed by theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[24] He appeared in only three games for the remainder of the 2018 season.[25]
On 15 March 2019, Nuñez-Roches was re-signed by the Buccaneers.[26] He played in all 16 games but was used as a rotational player defensively for the 2019 season.[27]
On 20 March 2020, Nuñez-Roches was re-signed by the Buccaneers.[28] He finished the 2020 season with 20 tackles in 16 games, of which he started 11.[29] The Buccaneers finished with an 11–5 record for a wild card spot and eventually wonSuper Bowl LV by a score of 31–9 over theKansas City Chiefs.[30][31]
On 20 March 2021, Nuñez-Roches was re-signed by the Buccaneers.[32] In the 2021 season, he appeared in 16 games and started one. He had 17 total tackles and one forced fumble.[33] In the 2022 season, he appeared in all 17 games, of which he started ten. He finished with two sacks and 33 total tackles.[34]
On 17 March 2023, Nuñez-Roches signed a three-year, $12 million contract with theNew York Giants.[35]
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.[36]
In the 2024 season, Nuñez-Roches appeared in and started 15 games. He finished with two sacks, 52 tackles, and two passes defended.[37]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | FF | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | KC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | KC | 11 | 5 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | KC | 16 | 11 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | TB | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | TB | 16 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | TB | 16 | 11 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 69 | 27 | 82 | 45 | 37 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Born inDangriga,Belize, Nuñez-Roches is fluent in bothEnglish andGarifuna.[38]
