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Rakeem Nuñez-Roches

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Nuñez and the second or maternal family name is Roches.
Rakeem Nuñez-Roches
refer to caption
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)
College:Southern Miss (2011–2014)
NFL draft:2015 / round: 6 / pick: 217
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Total tackles:186
Sacks:5.0
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Rakeem Nathan Nuñez-Roches (born July 3, 1993) is a Belizean professional American football defensive end for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football at Southern Miss.

Early life

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Nuñez-Roches migrated with his family from Belize to Alabama when he was eight years old [1] He attended Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama where he started to play football. For his high school football career, he recorded 132 career tackles, 17 sacks, and four forced fumbles. In football, he was rated as a three-star defensive lineman by ESPN, 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.[2]

College career

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Nuñez-Roches played at the University of Southern Mississippi from 2011 to 2014 where he majored in biological sciences.[3]

As a freshman in 2011, he appeared in six games and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team. For the 2011 season, he recorded two tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.

As a sophomore in 2012, 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.[2]

As a junior in 2013, he started the first two games of the season, before suffering a season-ending injury, which earned him a medical redshirt. For the season, he recorded eight tackles, of which two were solo, and 0.5 tackles-for-loss.[2]

As a redshirt junior in 2014, 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 the 2015 NFL draft.[5][6]

College statistics

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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

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
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 ft 2+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 from NFL Combine[7][8]

Kansas City Chiefs

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2015

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Nuñez-Roches was selected in the sixth round with the 217th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft by the Kansas 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]

2016

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On 17 September 2016, Nuñez-Roches was released by the Chiefs.[13] He was signed to the practice 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 the Oakland Raiders.[16] He appeared in eleven games and started five for the Chiefs in the 2016 season.[17]

2017

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In 2017, Nuñez-Roches played in all 16 games with 11 starts, recording 24 total tackles.[18]

2018

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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 2018, 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 2018.[21]

Indianapolis Colts

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On 11 May 2018, Nuñez-Roches was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts.[22] He was waived on 1 September 2018.[23]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Nuñez-Roches (#56) playing against the Washington Football Team in Wild Card Playoff game.

On 2 October 2018, Nuñez-Roches was signed by the Tampa 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 won Super Bowl LV by a score of 31–9 over the Kansas 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]

New York Giants

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

NFL career statistics

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Year Team GP GS Comb 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

Personal life

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Born in Dangriga, Belize, Nuñez-Roches is fluent in both English and Garifuna.[37]

References

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  1. ^ Iglesias, Ruben Morales (12 February 2021). "Rakeem Nathan Nunez-Roches as Belizean as punta, hudut, and rice & beans". Belize News and Opinion. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Rakeem Nunez-Roches". Southern Miss Golden Eagles Athletics. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  3. ^ Munz, Jason (26 November 2014). "A need to help: USM standout embodies spirit of season". Hattiesburg American. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  5. ^ Munz, Jason (26 December 2014). "USM's Nunez-Roches intends to enter NFL draft". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. ^ Munz, Jason (16 April 2015). "Nunez-Roches takes NFL draft ratings in stride". Hattiesburg American. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Nebraska, DT, 2015 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  9. ^ "2015 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  10. ^ "1st Belizean born player drafted in the NFL". Amandala Newspaper. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  11. ^ Verderame, Matt (11 May 2015). "Kansas City Chiefs sign four draft picks". ArrowheadAddict.com. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2015 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  13. ^ Paylor, Terez A. (17 September 2016). "Chiefs release Rakeem Nunez-Roches, add Jordan Devey from practice squad". KansasCity.com. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Transactions (2016)". Chiefs.com. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  15. ^ "Chiefs Announce Roster Moves". Chiefs.com. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs - December 8th, 2016". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2016 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2017 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  19. ^ Crabtree, Curtis (15 March 2018). "Chiefs place original round tender on Rakeem Nunez-Roches". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  20. ^ Conner, Matt (28 April 2018). "Rakeem Nunez-Roches re-signs with Kansas City Chiefs". Arrowhead Addict. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  21. ^ Gantt, Darin (8 May 2018). "Chiefs release Rakeem Nunez-Roches". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  22. ^ "ROSTER MOVE: Colts Claim DE-Rakeem Nunez-Roches Off Waivers". Colts.com. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018.
  23. ^ Walker, Andrew (1 September 2018). "Colts Announce Final 2018 Roster Cuts". Colts.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  24. ^ Smith, Scott (3 October 2018). "Bucs Sign DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2018 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  26. ^ Vitali, Carmen (15 March 2019). "Bucs Retain Interior Help on D-Line with Nunez-Roches". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2019 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  28. ^ Alper, Josh (19 March 2020). "Bucs re-sign Rakeem Nunez-Roches". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2020 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  30. ^ Patra, Kevin (7 February 2017). "What we learned from Buccaneers win over Chiefs in Super Bowl LV". NFL.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Super Bowl LV – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 7th, 2021". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  32. ^ Smith, Scott (20 March 2021). "Solid Line: Rakeem Nunez-Roches Stays with Bucs". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  33. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2021 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  34. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2022 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  35. ^ Eisen, Michael (17 March 2023). "New signings look to take Giants to next level". Giants.com. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  36. ^ "Rakeem Nunez-Roches 2023 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  37. ^ Munz, Jason (26 November 2014). "Nunez-Roches helps others". Hattiesburg American. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
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