Stephen Jones was the first member of the organization to speak publicly about Marshawn Kneeland’s death on Monday. Dave Shopland / AP Photo

For the first time since Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died last Thursday morning from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, a member of the team’s front office spoke publicly.

“Obviously this is very difficult,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “I can’t imagine for his family. And then, of course, you talk about his extended family, which is his teammates and the Cowboys organization and everybody who cared and loved Marshawn so much.”

Jones said he received a call in the middle of the night, alerting him of Kneeland’s death.

“Any time you get news like that, obviously it’s like a hole going through (your heart),” Jones said. “Just heartbroken. I certainly was hoping that wasn’t the case. … It’s just heartbreaking and tragic. It’s the worst thing you can imagine.”

Jones didn’t have any details but said they plan to honor the 24-year-old, who was playing in his second season after being drafted in the second round last year.

“We’ve obviously been working closely with his family and his loved ones and extended family,” Jones said, “Coach (Brian) Schottenheimer with our team, working on how we want to do this, what’s in the best interest with the family certainly first and foremost.”

The Cowboys were on their bye week last week. They will be preparing this week to face the Las Vegas Raiders next Monday night.

Jones said Schottenheimer is leaning on other coaches around the league who have been through similar situations.

“He has such an amazing network of people that he grew up with through his father,” he added. “At the end of the day, Coach Schottenheimer is so authentic in everything he’s about. It’s straight from the heart. There’s not one little bit of BS about Coach Schottenheimer. It’s all authentic. It’s all real with him. He’s certainly feeling the pain of all our players. And we know all our players will deal differently. Everybody deals with grief in different ways. You have to respect all ways that people grieve.”

When talking about Kneeland the player, Jones said what stood out most was his energy and love for the game.

“He played with a high motor,” Jones said. “He loved to get after it. Certainly that jumped off the tape when we were scouting him. He just jumped off the tape in terms of how he hustled, how he played the game, his passion for the game. And he certainly was that way as a person. He played that way for us. We’re just going to miss him so much. …

“It certainly puts everything in perspective. We’re playing a game that’s work that means a lot to a lot of people, but there are things a lot more important than that. Certainly that’s what we’re going through this week, so that will be first and foremost. But then we do know, like anything, we got to get back to work. We just want to continue to honor Marshawn and do everything the very best way we can.”

Nov 10, 2025

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Jon Machota is a staff writer covering the Dallas Cowboys for The Athletic. He previously covered the Cowboys for The Dallas Morning News. He’s a Detroit native and graduate of Wayne State University. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmachota