In a span of about 50 hours, Marshawn Kneeland ascended to the highest of highs and fell to the lowest of lows.
A week ago when the Dallas Cowboys were playing the Arizona Cardinals, Kneeland raced to the end zone in pursuit of a loose ball after a blocked punt. He broke away, falling on the ball first. Afterward, he leaped into the air in celebration. It was his first NFL touchdown.
The game ended in a loss for the Cowboys, but it was a shining moment for Kneeland, a defensive end in his second season as a pro. By all accounts, he seemed to have promising career ahead of him.
Two days later, he was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 24.
Exactly what transpired in Kneeland’s final hours is largely a mystery. Many questions remain about what triggered the crisis that sent Kneeland, armed with a gun, fleeing from police after he crashed into another vehicle on the Dallas North Tollway. Police discovered his body early Thursday morning near The Star in Frisco, the Cowboys’ headquarters and practice facility.
His family members are trying to piece together what happened too. One relative believes she knows what may have contributed to Kneeland’s decision to end his life.
“They say [it was related to] mental health, but he was grieving,” said Nicole Kneeland-Woods, a cousin. “It was the grieving of his mom that he was dealing with.”
In early 2024, two months before Kneeland was drafted, Wendy Kneeland died unexpectedly at age 45. The year prior, Kneeland-Woods said, his grandfather died.
Kneeland couldn’t share his professional successes or the pressures of the spotlight with either of them.
The absence of his mom, who had encouraged her son’s dream of an NFL career, was particularly painful, his cousin said. Kneeland kept her ashes in a thin silver urn on a thick chain around his neck.
He surely would have wanted her to see his performance in what would be his final game.
“He had an epic moment just this past Monday and was on top of the world,” Kneeland-Woods said. “At any given moment, it just shows you that people are human and people have weak moments. And at that moment, unfortunately, it just felt like he couldn’t turn to anyone, it seems like.
“But that does not define who he was.”
As the police continue to investigate the circumstances of why Kneeland died, his family would like to share how he lived.
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Family and football
Above all, Kneeland cared about football and his family.
Kneeland came from a large family. He had two brothers and a sister, aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives. The family was split geographically between Illinois and Michigan, where Kneeland grew up in Grand Rapids. The family would alternate between the two states when gathering over the summer and for major holidays, Kneeland-Woods said.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, left, and Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Taylor Moton pose for a photo after exchanging their jerseys after an NFL football game at Bank of America Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 in Charlotte. N.C.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Like many young men, Kneeland enjoyed playing video games, and he had a particular interest in anime. Growing up, he would watch Sword Art Online, Naruto and Dragonball Z. On his Instagram, he posted a video of an artist designing and inking an intricate tattoo of several characters, including from Jujutsu Kaisen and Kaiju No. 8, onto his forearm. He regularly posted images of characters possessing hidden abilities and inner strength.
Kneeland’s own talents were anything but.
Standing 6-3 and weighing more than 260 pounds, Kneeland was a towering presence on and off the field. At Godwin Heights High School, he was a versatile athlete. He transitioned to the defensive line from safety, while also playing tight end on offense. He earned all-state honors during his senior season and set records at the school for sacks, tackles and tackles for loss. He also ran track, where he was a regional champion 400-meter runner and an all-conference high-jumper.
As a football player, he was fierce and forceful, once describing his game to The Dallas Morning News as “violent, physical.” He was known for never giving up on plays, and his coaches hoped he could follow in the footsteps of former Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.
With his family, he was a “baby giant,” a nickname given by his grandmother, Regina Kneeland-Harrington. In a statement, she said her grandson was loving and respectful, visiting his grandfather in the hospital when he was ill.
Staying close to family was part of what informed Kneeland’s decision to finish his college career at Western Michigan University, forgoing an opportunity to transfer to Colorado and play for NFL Hall-of-Famer and one-time Cowboys star Deion Sanders.
Even after starting his NFL career, Kneeland devoted time to mentoring and educating children from his hometown. In June, he spoke on a panel hosted at his high school about balancing the rigors of college sports and academics. Over the summer, he would work with young athletes — kids who, Kneeland-Woods said, reminded him where he came from.
When he came home, he made a point of spending time with family. At family potlucks, Kneeland could easily put away two to three plates of food.
Kneeland wasn’t interested in partying, Kneeland-Woods said, adding that he didn’t drink, smoke or do drugs. His focus was on keeping his body healthy. His uncle, Preston Kneeland, said in a statement that Kneeland “stood on business.”
“His mom and I were always proud of the way he carried himself, treated others, and never stopped chasing his dreams,” his father, Shawn Kneeland, said in a statement.
According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Kneeland’s father is currently incarcerated. He was sentenced in January for attempting to discharge a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon, as well as for tampering with evidence.
Kneeland began dating Catalina Mancera during his sophomore year of college in Kalamazoo. After the death of Kneeland’s mother, she bought him a stuffed bear that included a voice message from his mother from the previous Christmas.
Mancera was renting an apartment in Plano, public records indicate, and had recently founded SZN Stitches, a custom gameday apparel brand. Several of the company’s featured designs, modeled by Mancera, included Kneeland’s name, photo and jersey number.
Mancera was reportedly one of the last people Kneeland was in contact with. She did not respond to requests for an interview.
A tragic loss
For Kneeland, his cousin said, his mom was “his heart.”
“She was really his foundation, his calm in the storm,” Kneeland-Woods said. “That was his source; that was his peace.”
In February 2024, his mother was found dead at home in Arizona, according to death records obtained by The News. The Maricopa County medical examiner ruled her death an accidental overdose from prescription medications.
Wendy had recently moved from the Midwest. When her prescription was transferred, Kneeland-Woods said, it was filled at too high a dose. The medical examiner’s report indicates that Wendy suffered from chronic pain conditions.
The woman who had been on the sidelines, cheering on Kneeland at his games his entire life, was suddenly no longer there.
“That person who has always been your biggest cheerleader — their voice has now been silenced,” Kneeland-Woods said. “How do you deal with that? How do you process that? That’s deafening.”
Kneeland had little time to mourn the loss of his mother. Her death was bookended by preparations for and completion of the NFL scouting combine. Services were held in early March, two days after the conclusion of the combine. The following month, Kneeland was drafted in the second round by the Cowboys as the 56th overall pick. He was eventually signed to a four-year contract reportedly worth at least $4 million.
Kneeland’s mother would not have the chance to see the look of excitement on her son’s face when he was drafted, nor his reaction to receiving a congratulatory phone call from team owner Jerry Jones. In a statement, Kneeland’s brothers, A.J. and Shawn Kneeland, said that call was the fulfillment of “the dream he’d chased since we were kids.”
At a memorial service, Kneeland described how his mother was a constant at his games and in his life, always a text or phone call away. He talked about wishing he had been able to see her before her death. While she had been unable to attend the post-season college Senior Bowl, he had been planning for her to be at the draft day party.
“It tore me apart,” he said at the services. “One thing that helped me get through it is I could still feel her training. I would ask for her to be there with me and it’s like I could feel her presence there with me. And I still do. She was always that loving person, so I know that she’s still watching over me.”
A few months later, Kneeland told The News he confided in former coaches at Western Michigan and his older sister, Yahmya Kneeland, as he coped with his mother’s loss.
Early Saturday, Yahmya Kneeland wrote her brother a tribute on Facebook that included photographs from their childhood and life together. There were images of herself as a toddler, holding and kissing her baby brother. In photos from when they were older, and he had become the bigger one, he easily lifts her off the ground.
The last photo she shared shows corresponding tattoos on the siblings’ arms: “My Brother’s Keeper” in typewriter lettering for her, “My sister’s Protector” in cursive script for him.
“My first baby, my bubs — I would choose to be your sister in every single lifetime,” she wrote in her post. “I love you so much it hurts. Give mom the biggest hug for me, ok?”
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