Marshawn Kneeland Honored with Tribute T-Shirts, Moment of Silence in Cowboys First Game After His Death

Marshawn Kneeland was on everyone’s mind during the Dallas Cowboys’ first game since his death.

As the Cowboys took the field on Monday, Nov. 17 to take on the Las Vegas Raiders, players wore a “94” decal on their helmets during the game. Before the game, many players and staff members wore navy t-shirts printed with Kneeland’s face, along with 2001-2025, representing the years of Kneeland’s birth and death.

A #94 jersey was also hung in the visitor’s locker room at Allegiant Stadium in honor of Kneeland, ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters said in the pre-game broadcast.

“Tonight’s about honoring a brother,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said as the Cowboys huddled before beginning the first quarter. Prescott, who lost his brother to suicide, took the field wearing white wrist tape with “One Love” written on it, a favorite phrase of Kneeland, per the Dallas Morning News.

He also said that the best way for the team to honor Kneeland was through their play, Salters reported.

“It’s how we can move forward, and bring Marshawn’s memory with us,” Prescott said.

Though the game was away from the Cowboys’ home stadium in Arlington, Tx., Raiders coaches, staff and players took the field for warm-ups while wearing shirts with “Call An Audible” written on the front, and “988,” the phone number for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, on the back.

Before the game, the arena held a moment of “silent reflection” in memory of Kneeland’s life, as a montage of photos of the late defensive end played just before The War & Treaty performed a soulful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

A Marshawn Kneeland jersey could be seen hanging in the stadium as the duo performed the National Anthem.

It’s been an emotional few weeks for the Cowboys since Kneeland’s death on Nov. 5. The football player was in his second year in the league when he died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after leading Texas DPS troopers on a chase just north of Dallas that Wednesday night, authorities said.

Just two days earlier, he had scored his first NFL touchdown.

A week after Kneeland’s death, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer shared that the player’s girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, is pregnant and expecting the couple’s first baby. Schottenheimer said that the organization has created the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund, which aims to financially support both Catalina and the couple’s baby.

“We want to make sure she’s taken care of and the baby is taken care of for the rest of their lives,” Schottenheimer said during a press conference.

He, along with several Cowboys players, have shared emotional tributes to Kneeland in the days since his death. Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, who lost his sister to suicide in 2018, gave a moving answer on Thursday about how he’s helping his teammates work through their grief.

“First off, you don’t escape grief,” Thomas began. “Grief never leaves you. Grief is forever with you. And as soon as you feel like you’re on top of grief, grief will hit you on the head as hard as a rock.”

Thomas, who established his foundation The Defensive Line in 2021 in honor of his late sister Ella, said “the first thing” he’s telling his teammates “is to honor themselves throughout this process [and] don’t try to run away from the grief.”

“Because the moment you try and run away from it, the bigger it gets, and the more that will affect your performance,” Thomas continued. He said he advised his teammates to cry “if you have to cry” adding that he’d offer to “hold” them as they cried.

“If you have to go outside during meetings, walk around, call your mom, do that,” he continued. “That’s whats important right now: feel that grief, feel that pain. Cry, be angry, be confused, because that’s whats real.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.