Cowboys Launch Huddle 94 Program on Kneeland Death Anniversary

Cowboys Launch Huddle 94 Program on Kneeland Death Anniversary

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A Year After Tragedy, Dallas Cowboys Honor Marshawn Kneeland with Mental Health Push

One year ago, the Dallas Cowboys were on their bye week, looking for a change in fortune on the football field. Instead, they were awakened by the tragic news: defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, a 24-year-old in just his second season with the team, had died by suicide after a car chase with police. ESPN reported that Kneeland had expressed suicidal ideations during the pursuit, a detail that would echo through the organization in the year that followed.

As the team prepares to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the anniversary of Kneeland’s death on Nov. 6, 2025, serves as a somber reminder of the human cost behind the sport. The Cowboys have responded not just with grief, but with action, launching the Huddle 94 program—a player-led initiative named for Kneeland’s jersey number, designed to foster open conversations about mental health and strengthen the brotherhood within the locker room.

From Grief to a Lifeline

“They’ve done a great job of putting something together and allowing us to create conversations and get together in smaller groups that talk about life and talking about things that are stressors to us that we may have,” quarterback Dak Prescott said Thursday, as reported by ESPN. “If it was something that we had, may have helped Marshawn. It may have been something that would’ve been a resource for him to prevent what inevitably happened.”

Everything instantly fell silent in a world hyper-focused on wins and losses on the field

Prescott, who lost his older brother Jace to suicide in 2020, has become a vocal advocate for mental health awareness within the team. He recalled the team-wide videoconference call held after Kneeland’s death, a moment he called “a tough day.” He singled out defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, whose own sister Ella died by suicide in 2018, for his vital words during that call.

“Being somebody that’s been through it, you’ll have all kind of feelings and emotions that may come up [Friday] and some you’re not expecting,” Prescott said. “And even in those moments, it’s about talking about it and talking through it with other people, with your teammates and people that can somewhat understand and relate.”

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“Mental health, just in general, I feel like it’s kind of blindly being ignored,” wide receiver CeeDee Lamb told ESPN. “I feel like they see us as figures more so than people, and icons of some sort to some people.”

For Lamb, the loss of a teammate hit differently than any before. “That was the first teammate in my life that I’ve actually lost,” he said. “You can’t really say that it’s something you can really get over because you know that there’s a family here and there’s a mom crying and there’s brothers and wives and everybody involved that’s still grieving.”

A Legacy Beyond the Field

The Cowboys’ response has been multifaceted. Dr. Heather Twedell, the team’s mental health clinician, immediately brought in counselors for the players. The team held a vigil at The Star practice facility, and for the remainder of the 2025 season, defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa carried a flag bearing Kneeland’s No. 94 onto the field each game, displaying his jersey by the bench.

The organization, players, and coaches made donations to support Kneeland’s then-unborn child, and the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation purchased football equipment in his memory for his high school, Godwin Heights in Wyoming, Michigan. Kneeland’s girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, gave birth to their son, Makhai Kneeland, in June 2026.

Coach Brian Schottenheimer, speaking to Yardbarker, emphasized the private, ongoing nature of the team’s remembrance. “We have begun to have those conversations with the guys. It is coming up on the anniversary,” he said. “We miss Marshawn so much. And what we do to honor him and his legacy will probably stay between us. But there’s not a day that doesn’t go by that we don’t miss him. Obviously, the grief is real. The pain is real.”

Cowboys Launch Huddle 94 Program on Kneeland Death Anniversary
Photo: Dallas Cowboys

The team also faced the complex medical reality of Kneeland’s situation. In July 2026, researchers at Boston University diagnosed him with Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repetitive head impacts, Bleacher Report noted.

The Unseen Work of Healing

The Huddle 94 program, detailed by Bleacher Report as “player-led roundtable discussions that are designed to add to the culture of the players’ brotherhood,” changes how the team addresses mental health.

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer makes first statement on Marshawn Kneeland's death

For his part, offensive lineman Tyler Smith remembers Kneeland’s vibrant personality. “He will always mean a lot to me, bro,” Smith said. “He was a funny guy. I think that’s something that I always think about is how funny he was, how bright his personality was, and how much we had in common.”

The Dallas Cowboys have started a program called Huddle 94 to help players deal with mental health issues following the death of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.

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