Late Cowboys Player Marshawn Kneeland's Girlfriend Welcomes Their Child

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died by suicide on Nov. 6, 2025. He was just 24 years old.

“We're going to honor Marshawn, his family, a number of different ways,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the week after his passing. “The organization has been amazing. We’ve started the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund, where we can all give and support Catalina. She’s pregnant, and so we want to make sure she’s taken care of and the baby is taken care of for the rest of their lives.”

Catalina Mancera, Kneeland’s girlfriend, has welcomed that baby.

“My favorite gift from you [white heart emoji] June 11th, 2026,” Mancera posted to Instagram on Monday.

One photo shows the baby boy in a onesie, with Kneeland in his Cowboys jersey stitched, and his name, Makhai, is stitched into his blanket. She also posted a video from when she revealed her pregnancy to Kneeland.

Two nights before his death, Kneeland recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown in the Cowboys’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals on “Monday Night Football.”

“That touchdown on Nov. 3 was his first in the league, and the congratulatory texts flooded in, including from one of his college coaches,” Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reported for The New York Times. “The next day, Mr. Kneeland was still buzzing from the touchdown, and he told the coach, Lou Esposito, that he planned to come back to Michigan that week. Mr. Kneeland said he had something to share. Mr. Esposito asked him what it was. ‘Good news,’ he responded.”

Kneeland played college football at Western Michigan before the Cowboys selected him in the second round (No. 56 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. He appeared in 18 games over the past two seasons for the Cowboys.

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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 4:37 PM.