Kneeland posthumously diagnosed with Stage 1 CTE; mental health concerns documented since 2020.

Former Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland was posthumously diagnosed with Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after his death by suicide in November 2025 at age 24. Boston University's CTE Center made the diagnosis following brain donation by his family. Records obtained by ESPN show mental health concerns dating back to 2020 when Kneeland was at Western Michigan, including a 2020 incident where he was found on railroad tracks expressing suicidal ideation and was hospitalized. Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, noted that CTE has been found in nearly half of athletes studied who died before age 30. Kneeland's family emphasized that while the CTE diagnosis provides context about struggles he may have faced, the BU CTE Center clarified that suicide is complex and multifactorial, and a post-mortem CTE diagnosis should not be considered the sole cause of suicide.

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