Marshawn Kneeland, second-year defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, passed away on Thursday at the age of just 24, just three days after celebrating his first NFL touchdown.

The team confirmed the tragedy, which immediately attracted an outpouring of grief from friends and team-mates alike.

“Marshawn was a beloved team-mate and member of our organisation,” the Cowboys statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family.”

The Cowboys used the 56th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft on the Western Michigan prospect, but he missed six games to start his rookie season due to injury. In all, he only played 18 games for the Cowboys, starting four — and picking up 26 total tackles and a sack — before his untimely passing. Poignantly, Kneeland had scored his first professional touchdown on Monday night, recovering a blocked punt in the endzone as a rare highlight in the Cowboys’ home loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

“I am shattered to confirm that my client and dearest friend Marshawn Kneeland passed away last night,” the player’s agent, Jonathan Perzley, said in his own statement. “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. My heart aches for his family, his team-mates and everyone who loved him, and I hope they feel the support of the entire football community during this unimaginable time.”

While neither the Cowboys, who are on a bye this week, or Perzley revealed any further details regarding Kneeland’s death, a statement from Frisco Police does not make happy reading.

On November 5^th, at approximately 10.39pm, the Frisco Police Department responded to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety with locating a vehicle that had evaded troopers during a pursuit that entered the city,” the statement revealed. “After losing visual of the vehicle, troopers located it minutes later, crashed on southbound Dallas Parkway.

“Initial reports indicated that a male subject, later identified as 24-year-old Marshawn Kneeland, fled the scene on foot. During the course of a subsequent search, officers received information that Kneeland had expressed suicidal ideations. He was later located, at 1.31am, 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. At this time, no further details will be released as the investigation remains ongoing.”

Former team-mate Micah Parsons, now a member of the Green Bay Packers, paid tribute on his Instagram stories, ‘Im sorry lil brother. I hope you find peace’, alongside a black-and-white photo of Kneeland, while former Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who coached Kneeland in 2024, said “He was a great person, eager to learn, and wanted to be great. He didn’t take any crap from anyone on the field. He studied hard, and loved playing the game. My last conversation with him was ‘Keep being you, you’re going to have a great career.”

Everyone at Gridiron expresses their deepest condolences to Kneeland’s family and friends, and everyone with the Dallas Cowboys, for this tragic loss of one so young.