While the Dallas Cowboys were looking to rest and reset during the Week 10 bye, they woke up on Thursday morning with the worst news possible, learning of the unfortunate death of Cowboys defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland.

On Thursday morning at 8:35 a.m., the Cowboys organization released a statement regarding the untimely demise of Kneeland.

“It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning. Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend, Catalina, and his family.”

The tragic death of Kneeland was also confirmed by his agent, Jonathan Perzley: “I am shattered to confirm that my client and dearest friend Marshawn Kneeland passed away last night.”

Reportedly, Marshawn died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Various sources later revealed in-depth details about the tragic event.

The Cowboys selected Kneeland in the second round (56th overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft, coming out of Western Michigan. Kneeland has played a total of 18 games in his career and started in four games. He had a total of 26 tackles, one sack, and four QB hits in his entire career.

The 24-year-old Kneeland was playing his second season with his team. After Kneeland’s death, NFL also issued a statement saying, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the passing of Cowboys’ Marshawn Kneeland. Our thoughts and prayers are with his girlfriend Catalina, family, friends and his teammates. We have been in contact with the Cowboys and have offered support and counseling resources.”

Soon after the news was made public, Kneeland’s teammates took to social media to mourn the tragic death.

Teammates react to the tragic loss of Marshawn Kneeland

Apart from Kneeland’s family and friends, his teammates are devastated by the news. Cowboys offensive tackle Terence Steele took to his Instagram story, sharing the team’s post, which features a black and white photo of Kneeland. It features a text overlay over the image that reads “2001-2025” and an emotional message, “Rest Easy Brother,” accompanied by a black heart emoji.

In his own story, Brock Hoffman echoed the sentiment by reposting the NFL’s tribute. It featured Kneeland’s picture with the years 2001-2025 mentioned on it, with a praying hand and a red heart emoji at the bottom. Cowboys’ tight end Jake Ferguson also reshared the same NFL Instagram post, captioning it “love you brother” with three black heart emojis at the start.

Other Cowboys players who joined the mourning on social media are safety Juanyeh Thomas and offensive lineman Tyler Smith. As Thomas reshared the NFL’s post and wrote a heartfelt message, “Bright spirit, a brother, and a great person. Love you 94,” Smith shared the Cowboys’ post with two heart emojis, one of which was a broken heart emoji.

In addition to his teammates, an emotional message came from Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott‘s fiancée, Sarah Jones. She reshared the Dallas Cowboys’ official statement on Kneeland’s death on her Instagram story and added a moving message, which reads, “Devastating. Please lift this family and community up with love and prayers. Rest in Peace, Marshawn. Green Bay Packers’ defensive end Micah Parsons also reshared NFL’s Instagram post and wrote, “I’m sorry lil brother I hope you find peace.”

Marshawn Kneeland’s NFL career was short but impactful. Just days before his death, he scored his first career touchdown, showing his promise. His teammates will remember him as a brother whose talent, spirit, and kindness left a lasting mark on the Cowboys family. His loss is deeply felt by all who knew him.