FRISCO, Texas -- Nothing will be normal about the rest of the Dallas Cowboys' season following the death of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland last week.
"We don't move on," coach Brian Schottenheimer said with tears in his eyes and emotion in his voice during a nearly 25-minute news conference Wednesday, "but we do move forward."
On Tuesday, the Cowboys held a private candlelight vigil inside Ford Center at The Star. Among those who spoke were Schottenheimer; owner and general manager Jerry Jones; teammates Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas; Kneeland's high school coach, Brandon Kimble; agent Jonathan Perzley; adviser Jay Bass; Kneeland's uncle Preston Kneeland; and Kneeland's girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, who Schottenheimer said is pregnant.
Pastor Jonathan Evans presided over the services.
"We told some stories [to] share, laugh, cry," Schottenheimer said. "Marshawn loved the words 'one love.' So we talked a lot about love as we grieve. I got a chance to really share a couple of things that I miss the most about Marshawn. A couple of things: He had the most playful spirit of any young man I've been around. His smile could take you to your knees. In terms of him as an athlete, no one had a better motor than him. So my heart is heavy. Our team's heart is heavy."
The organization has started a memorial fund in Kneeland's name to make sure Mancera and the baby are "set for life," Schottenheimer said.
Authorities say Kneeland died last Thursday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase and an accident involving a truck. According to audio obtained by ESPN, team director of security Cable Johnson asked for a welfare check on Kneeland and told police that Kneeland had sent a text saying he didn't want to go to jail.
Last Friday, the Cowboys held a virtual team meeting because many players, coaches and staff had left for the bye week.
On Monday, everybody returned to The Star, and a team meeting was held as the organization continued to make counselors available to anyone who needed it. Meetings and breakout sessions with seven grief specialists continued Tuesday. Schottenheimer said the players held a "brotherhood breakfast" that morning.
"It was hard to hear the pain that some of these guys are dealing with, but it was also very uplifting to hear the strength from other guys," Schottenheimer said. "That's the beauty of a team. One side of the ball is [not] playing good, the other side of the ball has to pick them up. When one guy is hurting, someone else has to pick them up. If the head coach is hurting, someone's got to pick me up. And I'm hurting. I'm hurting. And these guys have picked me up, and I've picked them up.
"That's what we're going to continue to do because we love one another. It's what a family does."
The Cowboys will wear a helmet decal to honor Kneeland for the rest of the season. They will wear T-shirts before the next two games as a remembrance. Before their first home game since the tragedy, Nov. 23 against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys will hold a moment of silence and video tribute for Kneeland in addition to other remembrances that have yet to be finalized.
Players are off Wednesday, but coaches have been setting up the game plan for Monday's meeting against the Las Vegas Raiders. On Thursday, the players will practice for the first time this week, and then they'll fly to Las Vegas on Sunday.
"[For] some guys, getting out on the grass is going to be the best thing in the world for them. Some guys getting out on the grass is going to be painful, and that's OK," Schottenheimer said. "And we're going to give each other grace and time. But I do promise you this: These guys will be ready to play against the Raiders.
"And we will honor Marshawn with how we play not just against the Raiders but for the rest of the season."