Cowboys practice becomes a tribute to Marshawn Kneeland

Looking at it, it looks like a normal practice at the Star in Frisco for the Cowboys. But today, players had more than pads and helmets weighing on them.

This was their first practice since the death of teammate Marshawn Kneeland. For some players, this is a form of therapy.

“Having dealt with a loss, and that is the best medicine for me,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said. “So getting back out there, handing the ball off, and sprinting an extra 10 yards and making sure I’m doing it hard. Marshawn went through my mind a few times in practice today, and I just counted that with running harder after a play or trying to do something to better this team and to show that.”

This is the first time some are speaking publicly about what Kneeland meant to them and the team.

“Someone who didn’t take each day for granted, and to have that spirit and that just person missing in your room is devastating,” Cowboys defensive tackle Solomon Thomas said.

Prescott added, “His saying was one love, and I think you just felt that. You felt that aura, you felt that demeanor, you felt him carry that, and that’s everything that he did, the way he played this game, the way he took care of his body.”

Now, as they prepare for their next game, they know it will be emotionally…but they are taking the memory of Kneeland out there with them to honor him the best way they know how.

“The only way I know how to get out of it, to move forward from a tragic situation like this, is to live for that person,” Thomas said. “Take the amazing qualities that you learned from them, take the smiles and memories that you gave from them, and apply them to your life every day.”

“He’ll be missed, definitely not forgotten, and we’re going to move forward,” Prescott said. “We’re going to move forward to carry on his legacy, and just everything that we can do, just try and do it the best we can.”