The defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys was drafted last year.

NFL player Marshawn Kneeland honored during Thursday Night Football, hours after death at 24

The defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys was drafted last year.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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November 7, 2025 3:51 p.m. ET

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The late Marshawn Kneeland Moment of Silence for Marshawn Kneeland was honored during 'Thursday Night Football'. Credit:

Perry Knotts/Getty; NFL

Marshawn Kneeland, the Dallas Cowboys player who died Thursday at age 24, was remembered by the NFL just hours later, as the Denver Broncos and the Las Vegas Raiders played on *Thursday Night Football.*

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Denver Broncos join the Dallas Cowboys and the entire NFL community in mourning Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who tragically passed away this morning" the announcer at Denver's Empower Field at Mile High stadium said. "As we offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and teammates, please stand and join in a moment of silence to remember the life of Marshawn Kneeland."

See the moment below:

The death of Kneeland, a Michigan native, was announced by his team earlier in the day.

"Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization," the team said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family.

Kneeland's agent, Jonathan Perzley, also gave a statement, in which he said that he was "shattered to confirm that my client and dearest friend Marshawn Kneeland passed away last night."

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He continued, "I watched him fight his way from a hopeful kid at Western Michigan with a dream to being a respected professional for the Dallas Cowboys. Marshawn poured his heart into every snap, every practice, and every moment on the field. To lose someone with his talent, spirit, and goodness is a pain I can hardly put into words."

Kneeland joined the Cowboys in 2024, after being drafted in the second round.

His cause of death was "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," after "an outside agency vehicle pursuit that led to a multi-agency search," according to a police report released by officials in Frisco, Texas.

Authorities alleged in the report that the incident began at 10:39 p.m. Wednesday, when the Frisco Police Department was called to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety with "locating a vehicle that had evaded troopers during a pursuit that entered the city of Frisco."

Marshawn Kneeland, of the Dallas Cowboys plays in a Sept. 5 game.

Kevin Sabitus/Getty

It identified the subject as Kneeland, whom the report said had "fled the scene on foot," which led to a search of the area, with the understanding that he had "expressed suicidal ideations."

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"Kneeland was later located at 1:31 a.m., deceased with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The cause/manner of death will be determined by the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office."

Kneeland's death occurred just days after he had scored his first touchdown on *Monday Night Football*.

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Source: “EW TV”