Cowboys still mulling best way to honor Kneeland

FRISCO, Texas -- As Dallas Cowboys players report back to The Star on Monday, following the team's bye week and for the first time since Marshawn Kneeland's death, executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team is working with the family on the best way to move forward.

"Certainly, it puts everything into perspective," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "You're playing a game that means a lot to a lot of people but there are things a lot more important than that. Certainly, that's what we're going through this week. So that'll be first and foremost. But then we do know, like anything, you've got to get back to work. We just want to continue to honor Marshawn and do everything the very best way we can."

Teams honored Kneeland with moments of silence before each game, and messages emphasizing mental health resources were read by the stadium public address announcers.

How the Cowboys honor Kneeland is still a work in progress, according to Jones. The Cowboys play the Las Vegas Raiders next Monday and will have their first home game Nov. 23 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kneeland, 24, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to authorities, following a police chase early last Thursday morning. Kneeland was involved in an accident after the chase and abandoned his car on foot before he was found later by police.

Jones received a call not long after the incident.

"Anytime you get news like that your heart just, obviously it's like a hole going through it and you're just heartbroken," Jones said. "Certainly, hoping that wasn't the case. Found out in the middle of the night, so woke up after finally got a little bit of sleep and woke up and was hoping it was a dream, but unfortunately it wasn't."

Jones added, "And, of course the call we got on Marshawn is the worst of all. You certainly get other calls that aren't good and are alarming but certainly when there's a loss of life, it's just heartbreaking and tragic and the worst thing you can imagine."

Kneeland was the Cowboys' second-round pick in 2024 out of Western Michigan.

"The biggest thing was his energy and the way he played the game. He had a big passion and love for the game," Jones said. "He played with a high motor. He loved to get after it. Certainly, that jumped off the tape when you watched Marshawn when we were scouting him. I mean he just jumped off the tape, how he hustled, how he played the game, his passion for the game. And certainly, he was that way as a person and played that way for us and we're just going to miss him so much."