Why Marshawn Kneeland should be remembered for his love, not his tragic end
At 6:54 a.m. on Thursday morning, I received a phone call I’ll never forget.
Just a rumor at the time, I hung up with my jaw on the floor at the possibility of Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland having taken his life in a shocking tragedy. A couple of hours later, the team confirmed the tragedy, and law enforcement officials released statements on the incident.
It was true. Kneeland had passed away at the age of 24.
While our interactions were brief, I was fortunate enough to know Kneeland. Shortly after entering the building as a second-round draft pick, I was able to conduct his first interview with the team.
“I’m excited,” Kneeland said, still with a rookie shyness about him. “It’s all just a dream until it actually happens. Being able to be here, it’s fun.”
Days before he walked through those doors for the first time, I was able to catch up with his college position coach, David Denham. He praised Kneeland’s work ethic and helped paint a picture of a player who went from nothing to everything during his time at Western Michigan.
“In the springtime, he would go on the field by himself and take his playbook and walk through things all by himself,” Denham said. “That’s when you started to see the gradual separation between him and some of the other guys.”
That hard work when nobody was looking translated to success when all the spotlight was on him. Despite having to switch from safety to defensive end, he shined as a collegiate athlete. In 38 collegiate games, he tallied 148 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks.
He would go on to become the ninth-highest draft pick in Western Michigan history when he was selected No. 56 overall by the Cowboys in 2024. From the jump, that college work ethic translated in his rookie training camp to former Cowboys assistant defensive line coach Greg Ellis.
“He lived up to that,” Ellis said. “On our off day [in camp], Marshawn calls me. He said, ‘Can you meet me? Can we look at some film?’ I was talking to my wife and I said, ‘I got to get off because I got to go meet one of the guys and look at film.’ She thought it was my off day. But when you have a guy that’s as talented as he is but understands that it takes more than what you did in college to be able to be successful at this level, I was glad to see that.”
Kneeland ‘a gentle giant’
Off the field, Kneeland was genuine. He was “a gentle giant” in the words of his family. Former teammate Amani Oruwariye said on Thursday that Kneeland was full of life around the facility in his one year alongside him.
“He just always brought good energy,” Oruwariye said. “He always was a guy that loved to laugh, loved to just live life, always cracking jokes at the facility. It came as a shock to me, but it just goes to show you never know what somebody is going through. Even if they have a smile on their face, you never know what they’re dealing with deep inside.”
Kneeland was also open about his battles with mental health. Early on during his time as a college athlete at Western Michigan, Kneeland said he dealt with imposter syndrome and not feeling like he belonged. Once he started emerging as a dominant player, those feelings subsided.
Weeks before he was drafted, Kneeland also lost his mother. In an interview with the team website’s reporter Nicole Hutchison, he opened up about the hardships that he had gone through with her passing.
“It was real hard,” he said. “The first three or four days, I was just out of it. It happened right before the combine. ... I didn’t want to talk to nobody. But I knew my momma, she would’ve said, ‘Work still needs to get done. A man without a plan is a man of fail.’”
He put that plan into action as a premier draft pick and a starter for the Cowboys defensive line going into his second season. After the departure of Micah Parsons, he never blinked at the opportunity to step up for his teammates. In his first game of year two, he recorded his first career sack against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Then, in what would end up being his final game, he recorded his only NFL touchdown after recovering a blocked punt from teammate Sam Williams in the end zone.
Check on the people in your life
If today teaches us anything, it’s that this life we live is so very precious. Things like an underperforming defense or a sub-.500 record going into the bye week feel so trivial now. Somewhere amid all of that noise, there was a person struggling, and that person is no longer with us.
But if today can teach us something else, it’s that we should all be checking on the people in our lives. Friends, family, coworkers. Sources, coaches, teammates, staffers. Put any category of people down that you want, but we all fall under one big umbrella: humans.
The human element of this sport doesn’t get talked about enough, and maybe that’s on guys just like me who talk and analyze this sport every day. But when days like Thursday happen, it should throw everyone back into reality.
Marshawn Kneeland was legitimately one of the good ones. Anytime I had a question, he was there at his locker with a smile and an answer.
He was genuine, hardworking and loving to anyone who interacted with him. His name will undoubtedly be remembered for his tragic passing, but I hope those compassionate traits he had are remembered right alongside with it. If the shoes were on someone else’s feet, it’s exactly how he would have remembered someone close to him.
Rest in Peace, Marshawn Kneeland. And for anyone battling or struggling with a similar battle, please reach out to someone. Anyone. The world is a more somber place without Kneeland today. It’s still better with you in it.
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 6:21 PM.
