{"id":38684,"date":"2025-11-06T21:34:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T21:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/38684\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T21:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T21:34:08","slug":"marshawn-kneelands-death-is-second-family-tragedy-in-two-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/38684\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshawn Kneeland’s death is second family tragedy in two years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland\u2019s death<\/a> is the second tragedy for his family in the last two years.<\/p>\n

Kneeland lost his mother, Wendy, unexpectedly last February, two months before he was taken in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Western Michigan.<\/p>\n

Marshawn died by suicide<\/a> following a police pursuit Wednesday night into early Thursday on Dallas Parkway near Warren Parkway, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was 24.<\/p>\n

Wendy died of \u201can undisclosed illness\u201d as Marshawn was preparing for the 2024 NFL scouting combine on Feb. 18, according to the Dallas Morning News<\/a> \u2014 and the pair had a shared goal of him making it to the pros one day.<\/p>\n

Marshawn Kneeland #94 of the Dallas Cowboys looks on from the sideline during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Cowboys selected him in the second round of the NFL draft that April.<\/p>\n

Marshawn was found at 1:31a.m., deceased with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Frisco police.<\/p>\n

Marshawn carried the ashes of his mother in a vertically shaped urn, no bigger than two inches, on a chain around his neck, according to the Dallas Morning News.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely tough,\u201d Marshawn said of his mother\u2019s passing last June. \u201cI just managed it. She helped me a lot in my younger years getting into football. I always had the dream. I always told her, \u2018I\u2019m going to the NFL\u2019 and I made it. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hard situation just knowing she got to see me potentially going to the NFL and going through [the process]. She\u2019s still with me. I got this urn of her ashes I carry with me everywhere. I still feel like she\u2019s there watching over me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police said they received information during their pursuit that Marshawn had expressed suicidal ideations. <\/p>\n

Plano police responded to a welfare concern at a home associated with Marshawn before midnight Wednesday, but did not make contact with anyone, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n

Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland\u2019s girlfriend, Catalina. Instagram\/szn.stitches<\/p>\n

According to 911 dispatch audio obtained by TMZ Sports<\/a>, an operator stated that Marshawn\u2019s girlfriend, whom the Cowboys identified as Catalina, stated she received a concerning message from Marshawn and was trying to contact the defensive end\u2019s agent.<\/p>\n

A 911 operator says his girlfriend stated that Marshawn was armed, has a history of mental illness \u2014 and she quoted him as saying he would \u201cend it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshawn Kneeland (c) in a photo he posted to his Instagram account. @m_kneeland99\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Another dispatcher is heard saying that the NFL contacted Plano police department regarding one of its players \u201ctexting his family goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kneeland played 17 snaps during the Cowboys\u2019 27-17 loss to the Cardinals on Monday night.<\/p>\n

He scored a touchdown on a blocked punt<\/a> in the first half at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. <\/p>\n

Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (94), Malik Davis (43) and Damone Clark, right, celebrate after Kneeland recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals on November 3, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d the Cowboys said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the passing of Cowboys\u2019 Marshawn Kneeland,\u201d the NFL said in a statement. \u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with his girlfriend Catalina, family, friends and his teammates. \u00a0We have been in contact with the Cowboys and have offered support and counseling resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshawn Kneeland with his mother (left). Instagram \/ @m_kneeland99<\/p>\n

The Cowboys are on a bye week before a \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d clash with the Raiders in Las Vegas on Nov. 17.<\/p>\n

Marshawn played in 11 games as a rookie last season and seven games this season, recording one sack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland\u2019s death is the second tragedy for his family in the last two years.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151,23968,113,23790,80,154],"class_list":["post-38684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news","tag-celebrity-deaths","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-marshawn-kneeland","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}