Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons paid tribute on Nov. 7 to Marshawn Kneeland, who was his teammate on the Dallas Cowboys.
Kneeland was 24 years old.
Parsons said he learned of the incident at about 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 6 from a former Cowboys teammate.
“I mean, obviously, I was extremely shocked,” he said. “I was extremely hurt by the news. Anyone that I know, I don’t want to see anyone go this soon at this age. ... But that’s kind of the reality. And I think the first key is accepting. I kind of accept it. But now I’ve just got to pray that he finds his peace or what he was looking for or how he felt in that moment. You really just don’t know.”
The driver was later identified as Kneeland. During the course of the investigation, police learned that Kneeland had expressed suicidal ideation.
Kneeland was drafted by the Cowboys out of Western Michigan with the 56th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He played in just 11 games as a rookie before suffering a season-ending knee injury; he accrued 14 total tackles, a pass defense, and a fumble recovery. Through seven games in 2025, he had 12 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery. On the night of Nov. 3, just two days before his death, Kneeland scored the first touchdown of his career on a blocked punt against the Arizona Cardinals.
Although he knew Kneeland for only one season, Parsons spoke highly of the young defensive end.
“Marshawn is a guy who loved his anime, loved his video games like anybody else,” he said. “[He] always showed me nothing but respect. From the moment he came into the locker room, the [defensive line] room, he respected me as a player, he respected me as a person. So I have nothing but high respect for him.”
He also extended his condolences to Kneeland’s family and offered to help them with anything they may need.
Parsons said he was grateful to have his family with him in Green Bay to lean on. He also said that he has had family members who have gone through similar issues and that it has brought them much closer together. For his teammates and fellow players, conversations about mental health are difficult, and people struggling should always seek professional help, he said.
Parsons said that Kneeland’s death prompted Parsons to reach out to former teammates and friends in his hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, talking about how they took their time together for granted. He said people should pray for loved ones and continue to reach out to them. He also suggested people should be more “purposeful with our intent of how [to] treat people and accept people.”
Parsons also shared some of the particular mental health issues of NFL players and how Kneeland’s death affects not just his teammates, but also the rest of the league.
“I’ve got former teammates that are devastated,” he said. “They can’t comprehend it. You know, losing a teammate is like a brother. ... People don’t realize how much we’re actually together, like time spent. So the challenge is we’re putting away a brother. ... This NFL is a brotherhood.”
He said that he is struggling to deal with emotions while also handling his duties as a player ahead of the Packers’ next game, on Nov. 10.
“We live in a pressured job where you’re expected to deliver and you’re expected to play a certain way, and when you don’t—I mean it’s easy to say, ‘Oh man, it’s so sad,’” he said. “But a lot of people are hard on people. ‘You suck.’ ‘You stink.’ ‘We hope you die.’ I mean, there’s a lot of harsh words and harsh things that get said about people. And as athletes, most of us see it. Some of us don’t. But we choose to wait till someone passes to realize what we say and what we do, how it can affect people.”
