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The Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday announced plans to honor late defensive end Marshawn Kneeland for the remainder of the season. Kneeland, who was in his second NFL season with the Cowboys, died Nov. 6 at age 24. He was found by police deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after an hours-long pursuit by police in Frisco, Texas, according to a news release. On Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced the team will wear special helmet decals throughout the rest of this season in honor of the late Kneeland. In addition to the helmet decals, the Cowboys will wear commemorative t-shirts honoring Kneeland during team warmups prior to their next two games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles. Speaking publicly for the first time about Kneeland’s death, Jones said Tuesday he was “devastated” to learn the news. “Just hard to believe the content that was on the other phone in the middle of the night when we all got the news,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, according to the Cowboys website. “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. “The very definition of team is we love each other, we rely on each other. That’s the ethos of what a team is about. Everybody expects that this is a rough game, it takes some real mental toughness to play the game, but in fact there’s a lot of love for each other there that is shared in unique ways, and you get to know each other pretty good…” “Sports emphasizes so many things that we all want, to some degree, to hang our hat on. 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 added. Around 10:39 p.m. on Nov. 5, the Frisco Police Department responded to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety with locating a vehicle that had evaded troopers before entering the city of Frisco, according to the release. Troopers located the vehicle minutes later crashed on southbound Dallas Parkway. Police said the driver, later identified as Kneeland, fled the scene on foot, which led to officers establishing a perimeter and search of the area with the assistance of drone units and FPD K-9s. Kneeland was located by police deceased at 1:31 a.m., according to the release. His official cause of death will be determined by the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office. The investigation into Kneeland’s death is ongoing, police said. Kneeland, a former standout at Western Michigan, was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. His death on Nov. 6 came days after he scored his first career touchdown when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone on “Monday Night Football” against the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 3. Kneeland recorded 26 tackles, including five for a loss, one sack and one pass deflection in 18 career games with the Cowboys.
