The Chiefs have released defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches, as Terez A, Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Southern Miss product was due $1.9MM this year as a backup, which was apparently too much for KC’s liking. 
Nunez-Roches was a restricted free agent this offseason and was retained with the original-round tender. The 24-year-old (25 in July) took a while to explore his options and did not ink his tender until the last week of April. The deadline for RFAs to sign offer sheets was on April 20, but Nunez-Roches did not sign an offer sheet and – to our knowledge – did not draw serious interest elsewhere. As a former sixth-round pick, a team would have had to sacrifice an equivalent choice in the event of an unmatched offer sheet.
Ultimately, Nunez-Roches was pushed out of a defensive line that added RFA Xavier Williams from the Cardinals and will return Allen Bailey to complement its Chris Jones-centered unit. The Chiefs also bolstered the D-Line through the draft by taking Mississippi’s Breeland Speaks in the second round and FSU nose tackle Derrick Nnadi in the third round.
Nunez-Roches started eleven games for the Chiefs last season and five in the 2016 campaign. He played 390 snaps in 2017 and registered a half-sack and made 24 tackles.