After making his first NFL start, Chiefs’ Rakeem Nunez-Roches is ready for more

As they sat down for dinner last Saturday, Rakeem Nunez-Roches felt the need to preface the message he was about to deliver to his mother.

“I’m going to tell you something, but I don’t want you to go crazy,” Nunez-Roches told Nancy. “Then I told her.

“She went crazy, and started crying.”

They were tears of joy. Nunez-Roches, the Chiefs’ second-year defensive lineman, had just told her he was about to make his first NFL start.

Nunez-Roches made the most of the opportunity, recording four tackles, one solo, in the Chiefs’ 20-17 victory at Carolina. He played 32 of 73 snaps and was typically energetic on all of them. His best moment came when he nearly recorded a sack of Cam Newton, who got off the throw about the time Nunez-Roches arrived.

The effort reflected what the Chiefs have seen in practices.

“We know we’re getting a high-motor guy,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said.

Nunez-Roches, a native of Belize, moved to the United States with his mom when he was 8. The Chiefs made him their sixth-round pick out of Southern Mississippi in 2015. He appeared in seven games with four tackles last season.

“When he was a rookie, we said you just can’t cut him,” Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “He has more energy than anybody on the field, even (defensive backs). Teams throw it downfield and he’s chasing guys.

“The hustle he has in his soul helps us. He’s a small guy, but he has a lot of fight in him.”

Small for a defensive lineman, anyway, at 6-2, 307 pounds. And that contributed to the uncertainty Nunez-Roches faced entering this season.

When the Chiefs took Chris Jones with their first draft selection for 2016, the interior line was getting crowded. And when the Chiefs suddenly found themselves in need of offensive linemen early in the season, the roster was shuffled and Nunez-Roches was waived.

“At that point, I didn’t think about anything,” Nunez-Roches said. “I got closer to my faith. I don’t worry about the things I can’t control.”

But Nunez-Roches didn’t abandon the notion that he belonged in the league. Before the week was over, the Chiefs brought him back to their practice squad.

As the season unfolded, the defensive line started taking injury hits. Allen Bailey was lost for the season with a torn muscle in his chest, and more recently Jaye Howard suffered a hip injury. Howard didn’t play against the Panthers, and that’s when Nunez-Roches stepped in.

Howard didn’t practice on Friday, so it may be more action for Nunez-Roches as the Chiefs take on the Tampa Bay Bucs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

If so, no revelations at dinner will be required, but a postgame hug similar to the one that occurred at Carolina that conveyed a sense of accomplishment and relief, would be in order again.

To see everything pan out,” Nunez-Roches said, “she told me how proud she was of me and to never lose faith.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "After making his first NFL start, Chiefs’ Rakeem Nunez-Roches is ready for more."