Cowboys’ Marshawn Kneeland texted family goodbye before death by suicide: audio
Dallas Cowboys’ defensive end Marshawn Kneeland texted his family goodbye before dying from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound after a pursuit by law enforcement on a North Texas toll road Wednesday night, according to dispatch audio obtained by the Star-Telegram.
The Frisco Police Department is leading the investigation into the 24-year-old NFL athlete’s death, officials said.
Kneeland refused to stop when Texas Department of Public Safety troopers tried to pull him over for a traffic violation shortly after 10:30 p.m. in the northbound lanes of the Dallas North Tollway, the agency said in a news release. DPS has not said what the traffic violation was. The troopers chased Kneeland into Frisco, but lost sight of his car.
Frisco police got a call from DPS shortly before 10:40 p.m., asking for their assistance locating Kneeland’s car, according to a Frisco Police Department news release. A short time later, the vehicle was found abandoned after being involved in a crash on southbound Dallas Parkway, about 10 miles from where the chase began. According to DPS, Kneeland’s car hit a pickup truck, but the driver of that vehicle wasn’t injured.
Officers and DPS troopers began to search for the athlete in an area less than a mile away from the Cowboys’ practice facility, The Star. A Plano Police Department spokesperson said Frisco police reached out to them about 11 p.m. and asked them to try contacting Kneeland after officers found his car. Plano police went to Kneeland’s apartment listed on the car registration in the 6000 block of Columbus Avenue, but no one was there.
At some point, a dispatcher told officers they’d just gotten a call from Kneeland’s girlfriend, according to the audio recording.
“She’s saying he is armed and has a history of mental illness, and her quote was, ‘He will end it all,’” the dispatcher reported.
A second call about Kneeland, this time a welfare concern from the NFL, came into Plano police about 11:40 p.m., the spokesperson said. Officers again went to the Columbus Avenue apartment, but weren’t able to make contact with anyone.
According to dispatch audio, Plano police received a call from Dallas Cowboys security saying that Kneeland “is texting his family goodbye.” The player’s texts also included a statement indicating he didn’t want to go to jail, which was presumably related to the DPS chase and subsequent crash.
In the course of the search for Kneeland in the Frisco area, officers learned he “had expressed suicidal ideations,” the news release stated. According to the audio, the officers were instructed to stay in pairs during the search due to Kneeland being armed.
The athlete was found dead shortly after 1:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Frisco police. The dispatch audio indicates his body was found inside a portable toilet after officers used a heat-detecting drone to scan the area.
The Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office will officially determine Kneeland’s cause and manner of death.
Jonathan Perzley, Kneeland’s agent, confirmed the athlete’s death in an Instagram statement and asked for privacy and compassion for his family.
“Marshawn poured his heart into every snap, every practice, and every moment on the field,” Perzley posted. “To lose someone with his talent, spirit, and goodness is a pain I can hardly put into words.”
If you or a loved one is experiencing a crisis or suicidal thoughts, there is help available. Call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 2:16 PM.
