‘Your Body Remembers’: Tyler Smith, CeeDee Lamb Reflect On Marshawn Kneeland One Year Later
FRISCO, Texas — Tyler Smith and CeeDee Lamb said Thursday that the Dallas Cowboys came closer together after the death of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, and that the conversations about mental health since have changed how they check on one another.
Friday marks one year since Kneeland died Nov. 6, 2025, at 24. For Lamb, it was the first time he had lost a teammate, and the people Kneeland left behind are still grieving.
“Mental health just in general, I feel like is very kind of blindly being ignored. I feel like they see us as figures more so than people, and icons in some sort to some people,” Lamb said. “And obviously losing a teammate, that was the first teammate in my life that I felt like I’ve actually lost.”
“It’s not really 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. Wives and everybody involved that’s still grieving,” Lamb continued. “So like for us, we’ve got to keep him in our prayers. We do everything we can just to kind of honor him and do everything as far as something that I know he would do, as far as come out, practice hard, compete.”
Tyler Smith Says Grief Stays In The Body
How tight the team got afterward is what Smith remembers most. A grief session this week, run by the team’s mental health clinician, Dr. T, stuck with him.
“I think I just remember how tight everybody got, how close together we came, just a celebration of his life afterward. And obviously, I feel like it was such a sad event. But what came after it was beautiful in a way,” Smith said. “Of us just leaning on each other. Of us just understanding that everybody’s fighting a battle that they don’t talk about all the time that’s unseen.”
“Something that Dr. T has done, our mental health person, she’s had initiatives. We sat in meetings where we’re like, hey, after the game, why don’t we get in the room and just talk about mental health or just have y’all kind of talk about grief in a way. Because that was a subject earlier this week, was grief,” Smith explained. “How do people react to grief? You might lose somebody and you might not remember the day, but your body remembers the way it felt.”
Those sessions have made Smith more deliberate about checking in on teammates, friends, and family.
“So I think just opening up the floor for those conversations, those mental health conversations, it’s made me think more about just checking in with my teammates, checking in with my friends and family, seeing how they’re doing. And I think the advocacy has been huge from that,” Smith said.
Smith Says Nobody In The Locker Room Goes Through It Alone
Smith was traveling to California the morning he learned of Kneeland’s death. A year later, it still does not feel real to him.
“It’ll be hard. I still remember the morning I got up because I had to go to California the day it happened and just seeing it, like, it didn’t feel like it was real. And it kind of still doesn’t, bro. For someone so young to go so early. I mean, it’s hard, bro,” Smith said. “But I feel like I don’t have to go through it alone. Everybody in the locker room has each other’s backs. Let’s remember Marshawn for who he was, for who he represented, the things that he believed in.”
Dallas won its next game, at Las Vegas, 11 days after Kneeland’s death. Kneeland was a second-round pick in 2024 out of Western Michigan.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
