FRISCO, Texas -- For about 90 minutes Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys could think about football as they prepared for Monday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
It has been only eight days since they learned of the death of their teammate, Marshawn Kneeland, but coach Brian Schottenheimer talked to a number of team leaders earlier in the day who had a message.
"They're like, 'We're done talking. We want to play,'" Schottenheimer said. "And that as a coach gets you excited."
Kneeland died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase, according to authorities.
Last week, the Cowboys held a virtual team meeting while on their bye, then on Monday, they came together as a group for the first time. On Tuesday night, a candlelight vigil was held for Kneeland's family, friends and those inside the Cowboys organization.
After a day off Wednesday, the Cowboys got back to work.
"Having dealt with loss, that is the best medicine for me," 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 at practice today. I just countered that with running harder after a play or trying to do something to better this team to show that. It felt good. I know it was a great practice. A lot of guys were out there, good energy, beautiful weather. As I said, we're not forgetting, but we're moving forward carrying on the light."
Prescott and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas carry a different burden to Kneeland's loss. Prescott's brother, Jace, died by suicide in 2020. Thomas' sister, Ella, died by suicide in 2018. Through their foundations, both players have pledged help for mental health awareness and aiding families touched by tragedy.
"It's a tragic death," Thomas said. "It's a death of a 24-year-old man who had so much life to live. My heart just breaks for everyone, and my prayers go out to everyone. 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, take the amazing qualities that you learned from them, take the smiles and memories that you get from him, and apply them to your life every day. Live for that person. Talk to their spirit. Hold their spirit with you every day. The only way I truly believe you can let someone die is not living with their spirit, not saying their name, not talking to them, not loving them, not feeling the grief. Because grief is pain. But grief is also love. You feel that hurt. You feel that guilt. You feel that shame. You feel the sadness and depression because you've had so much love for that person."
The Cowboys continue to make counselors available to players, coaches and staff.
Thomas said players have leaned on each other during this difficult time and called for more understanding of mental health problems.
"We're losing so many amazing people to it," Thomas said. "People that should be here helping their loved ones. Spending birthdays with their loved ones, watching people get married. Like, it's such a preventable death, and we just need as a nation to come together. Be kind. Put more funding into mental health resources. Help people get to therapy and let people know it's OK to cry. Let people know it's OK to not always put a smile on and be good. Like, let people know you can be sad and happy and still have a good day."
"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 at practice today. I just countered that with running harder after a play or trying to do something to better this team to show that. It felt good." Dak Prescott on returning to practice
Like Thomas, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa spoke at the vigil. Like Prescott, he was glad to be on the practice field Thursday. But he also noticed Kneeland was not there.
"It's still something that I'm trying to wrap my head around," Odighizuwa said. "I was at my locker before practice and I looked up and I felt like I saw him, and, 'Ah nah, that's someone else.' It hits you, you know what I mean? Just moments like that. It's still sinking in, to be honest. It still doesn't feel all the way real."
Wide receiver Ryan Flournoy was in the same 2024 draft class as Kneeland. His wife and Kneeland's girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, have become good friends. The couple went on numerous double dates.
A foundation has been started to help take care of Mancera, who is pregnant.
"For us, she's not alone. She's expecting a child, and we want her and that child to never need," Flournoy said. "Marshawn was a great guy. He would have been a fantastic dad."
The Cowboys will have two more practices before traveling to Las Vegas on Sunday ahead of the Raiders game. Thomas said the grieving process does not end.
"If we all play like Marshawn, we'll play like a better team," Thomas said. "I'm not saying Marshawn was a perfect player, but that way he would go out there and play is the way football is supposed to be played. He would run to the ball. No matter how tired he was, he would play with intensity and tenacity. He went out there because he loved the game. He played with love. He played every play like it was his last and didn't take reps for granted. ... If we do that, we'll honor him -- win, loss or draw -- if we play like Marshawn. We'll be a better team. We'll come out of this better."