Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speaks of grief over death of ‘unique’ Marshawn Kneeland at 24

Marshawn Kneeland scored his first career touchdown earlier this season. Photograph: Richard W Rodriguez/AP

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spoken about his grief at the death of Dallas defensive end Marshawn Kneeland last week.

Kneeland, who was in his second year with the Cowboys, was 24 at the time of his death.

He was very unique in his zest for life, and he was very unique for his passion for the game," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. Of course, the saddest thing for someone like me is the fact that he's only 24 years old. You think about all of the time that we're going to miss him and he's going to be missed by the people around him. He was just getting started."

Related: Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland dies at age of 24

Police say Kneeland took his own life, and Jones said he hoped the tragedy would help raise awareness around mental health.

His death is such a national awareness thing that it takes on some of that light when we think about how we go forward," said Jones.

Dallas have not played since Kneeland's death due to their bye week. They will return to action next Monday against the Las Vegas Raiders. Cowboys players will wear t-shirts and decals on their helmets in tribute to Kneeland.

From the standpoint of the team and going back to work, there's no doubt in my mind they will do so in memory of what he's all about," said Jones.

Jones added: I think we all have unfettered feelings about the people we love, people we work with, and this is just a time when you acknowledge that there's no answers. It makes you want to live life to the fullest. It makes you want to look for the very best in what we have for each other. And in some way make sense out of these times in terms of what they can mean from helping those that are here on Earth right now."

Kneeland played in 11 games in his rookie season, but had taken on a more prominent role in 2025. He scored his first career touchdown in his final game for the Cowboys after recovering a blocked punt in the endzone.