After Marshawn Kneeland’s death, Solomon Thomas opens up with raw advice shaped by his own family’s devastating suicide tragedy

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Solomon Thomas stepped in front of reporters on Thursday and spoke with a calm honesty that cut through the noise surrounding the team. It has been only days since the death of Marshawn Kneeland, and the locker room is still carrying that weight.

Thomas knows that pain well. He lost his sister Ella to suicide in 2018, a loss that altered his life and led him to create The Defensive Line foundation. Now he is helping teammates navigate an emotional week before their Monday night game against the Raiders.When asked how the Cowboys could escape their grief, Thomas did not hesitate to push back. He said, “First off, you don’t escape grief. Grief never leaves you. Grief is forever with you.

And as soon as you feel like you’re on top of grief, grief will hit you on the head as hard as a rock.” His message to teammates has been simple and personal. He has encouraged them to feel everything instead of shutting it out.

Solomon Thomas’ grief advice guides Cowboys teammates

Thomas said “the first thing” he tells teammates “is to honor themselves throughout this process [and] don’t try to run away from the grief.” He explained that avoiding those emotions can make them heavier and interfere with how they function on and off the field.

He urged players to cry “if you have to cry” and even offered to “hold” them if they needed support. He told them that if they needed to step outside meetings, walk around or call a loved one, they should do that.

Thomas said, “That’s what’s important right now: feel that grief, feel that pain. Cry, be angry, be confused, because that’s what’s real.”

The Cowboys expect a difficult night on Monday as they take the field for the first time without Kneeland.

Thomas said they are “going to feel the grief” and that there will be an “absence of spirit that’s missing that’s going to hurt a lot of people.” Still, he believes they can honor their teammate by playing their hardest, saying they can move forward while carrying his memory.Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa also shared how surreal the loss still feels. He said, “I looked up and I felt like I saw him, and ‘Ah nah, that’s someone else.’ It hits you.” Dak Prescott echoed that heartbreak earlier, saying, “This is a pain you don’t wish upon anybody.”As the team prepares for an emotional game, their focus remains on supporting Kneeland’s girlfriend Catalina Mancera, who is pregnant, and finding strength in each other while honoring the life of their teammate.More NFL coverageDrake Maye’s wife steals spotlight with furry TNF look that oddly has ‘nothing to do with Patriots’Aaron Rodgers’ $3.7M Wisconsin mansion hits market, sparking buzz about hidden features and his next big transition