GREEN BAY, Wis. — As Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons prepares this week for a pivotal Monday night matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field, he’s also coping with the death of former teammate and Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.
Kneeland, whom the Cowboys drafted in the second round last year, died of an apparent suicide on Thursday morning, police said.
“Marshawn’s a guy who loved his anime, loved his video games, like anybody else,” Parsons said Friday. “To me, he always showed me nothing but respect from the moment he came into the locker room … He respected me as a player. He respected me as a person, so I have nothing but high respect for him. If there’s anything his family needs, I’ll be the first person to help or offer anything I can. I just hope that he finds his peace and his family finds his peace in the situation.”
Kneeland played in 11 games for the Cowboys as a rookie with Parsons as a veteran leader before Dallas traded Parsons to Green Bay before the 2025 season. Parsons said the tragedy led him to reach out to friends back home and former teammates about how they took for granted the time they spent together.
“Life’s just so short, so we should really just start appreciating a little bit more and just loving people right and being purposeful with our intent and how we treat people and how we accept people,” Parsons said, while adding of Thursday morning’s news, “I would say I was extremely shocked. I was extremely hurt by the news. Anyone I know, I don’t want to see anyone go this soon at this age. I don’t want anyone to go, but that’s kind of the reality. I think the first key is accepting. I kind of accept it, but now I just gotta pray he finds his peace and what he was looking for. How he felt in that moment, you just really don’t know. For me, I have kids. How do I make sure my kids don’t end up in that similar situation?”
Life goes on, no matter how difficult the last 48 hours and next however many will be for Parsons and others close to Kneeland. So Parsons will continue preparing for a prime time tilt that could show the Packers how much they’ve grown since the Eagles ended their season in January.
“It’s challenging because obviously the personal side, in this career, how people look at it, always gotta be second,” Parsons said. “This is (a) football first, everything else later job … in reality, to say that we’re emotionless and we don’t have feelings, you gotta put things to the side all the time, it’s just not realistic. I have to find a way to embrace my emotions, embrace everything I’m feeling for his family, my former teammates. I got former teammates that are devastated. They can’t comprehend it. Losing a teammate is like a brother.
“Trying to put that aside is challenging, but we gotta find a way because there’s an expectation come Monday night … If I know ‘94’ (Kneeland’s number), he’s gonna want me to kill ‘em. He’s gonna want me to kill ‘em because that’s how he played. He always played with the intent and passion and played the right way. Every time I seen him step on the field, he gave it his all even when he was hurt, even when he was dealing with things off the field. He never let it show on the field, so I have to do the same thing.”
