This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
The Dallas Cowboys will make what will doubtless be an emotional return to the football field Nov. 17 when they take on the Raiders at Las Vegas in a nationally televised ‘Monday Night Football’ game on ESPN. It will be the Cowboys’ first contest since the death of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland nearly two weeks ago.
There have been several developments in the aftermath of the 24-year-old Kneeland’s untimely passing. That said, new details regarding his death have been slow to arrive as Frisco, Texas, police continue their investigation.
As the Cowboys carry on without a young man who was only in his second professional season, here’s what we know about Kneeland, his final days, and what’s occurred since.
When did Marshawn Kneeland die?
The time of Kneeland’s death hasn’t been pinpointed and may never be. The Frisco Police Department joined the Texas Department of Public Safety in pursuit of his vehicle when a chase entered the city limits at 10:39 p.m. CT on Nov. 5. Authorities found Kneeland’s vehicle shortly thereafter, crashed on a local parkway, however he’d fled the scene. Police searched for him with the assistance of K-9 units and drones but didn’t find his body until 1:31 a.m. ET CT on Nov. 6.
Marshawn Kneeland cause of death
In a media release provided on Nov. 6, Frisco police characterized Kneeland’s death as a ‘possible suicide,’ saying he was ‘found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.’ The FPD learned Kneeland ‘had expressed suicidal ideations’ in the interim between finding his abandoned vehicle and his body.
When will Marshawn Kneeland’s death be determined?
Frisco police have not provided a timeline regarding Kneeland’s autopsy and don’t plan to provide further details while their investigation unfolds. The cause and manner of his death will be determined by the Collin County medical examiner’s office.
What are the Cowboys doing to honor Marshawn Kneeland?
The team is providing long-term financial assistance for Kneeland’s girlfriend, who is pregnant.
‘We’ve started the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund, where we can all give and support Catalina,’ head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters last week. ‘She’s pregnant, and so we want to make sure she’s taken care of and the baby’s taken care of for the rest of their lives.’
Starting with the Raiders game, the Cowboys will wear helmet decals in remembrance of Kneeland for the remainder of the season. They’ll also warm up in special T-shirts in a bid to honor him, both on Monday night and on Nov. 23 against the Philadelphia Eagles, which will be Dallas’ first home game since Kneeland died. He scored his only professional TD on Nov. 3, the Cowboys’ most recent appearance, returning a blocked punt for a score in a 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The team also shared a tribute to Kneeland on social media.
What has Dak Prescott said about Marshawn Kneeland’s death?
‘Just a great dude,’ the Cowboys quarterback said of Kneeland last Thursday. ‘Spirit was always high. Any time you crossed him, very contagious attitude. We spent a lot of time throughout the training room passing each other, having small conversations here and there. Very loving, contagious guy. I know it’s been noted his saying was ‘One Love,’ I think you just felt that. You felt that aura, you felt that demeanor, you felt him carry that and that’s everything that he did.’
Prescott, whose older brother Jace died by suicide in 2020, felt the loss poignantly, calling it ‘triggering’ with his first public comments on Nov. 6.
“Having dealt with loss, that is the best medicine for me,” Prescott added last Thursday. “Getting back out there, handing the ball off and sprinting an extra 10 yards and making sure I’m doing it hard. Marshawn went through my mind a few times in practice today, and I just countered that with running harder after a play or trying to do something to better this team and to show that.’
What has Jerry Jones said about Marshawn Kneeland’s death?
Jones, owner of the Cowboys, said he was ‘devastated’ on a Nov. 11 radio interview, his first public remarks about Kneeland following his death.
‘We all are having to share the sorrow, all are having to share the different ways or different things that come through your mind. It’s not light that as a teammate, Marshawn touched everybody in many different ways,’ Jones said.
‘But this is a reality check that at the end of the day, the human things of having someone’s company on earth, being able to be involved with them for the time that we’re here, they’re here, all of those things come to mind in times like this.
‘He was very unique in his zest for life, and he was very unique in his passion for the game. And of course the saddest thing for someone like me is the fact that he was only 24 years old. You think about all of the time that we’re going to miss him, and he’s going to be missed by the people around him, he was just getting started.’
Jones shared in a separate radio interview last Friday that he hopes playing again Monday will be ‘therapeutic’ for the Cowboys.
Marshawn Kneeland’s NFL career
A second-round draft pick, 56th overall, out of Western Michigan in 2024, Kneeland appeared in 18 NFL games. Aside from his touchdown on Nov. 3, he compiled 26 tackles (5 for losses), four quarterback hits, one sack, one pass break-up and one fumble recovery in his brief career.
Do you need mental health resources?
Once again, if you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. You are not alone.