Forrmer Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland tragically died at the young age 24 on Thursday, November 6.
While only having shared his rookie season with All-Pro Micah Parsons, who was stunningly dealt from the Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers in late August, the passing of Kneeland has left the 26-year-old star in a state of sadness, along with great reflection and true appreciation.
When Parsons met with the local media on Friday, his thoughtful words about the loss of Kneeland and really, life in general, certainly seemed to resonate with fans.
And understandably so, because it was pretty clear Parsons was speaking from the heart.
"Keep praying for your loved ones, praying that people find peace," Parsons said.
"And also just continue to reach out to our loved ones. It [Kneeland's death] made me reach out to some friends I have back home, former teammates, about how we took for granted the time we had together. Life’s just so short, so we should really just start appreciating it a little bit more and just loving people right and being purposeful with our intent and how we treat people, and how we accept people."
It would be relatively difficult to put it any better than Parsons did there.
The four-time Pro Bowler also made a point to express how grateful he was to have been surrounded by his family and children when the tragic news initially broke.
Based on a good majority of the reaction on social media, the sentiment Parsons shared appeared to be greatly felt and appreciated.
While the Cowboys do fortunately have a BYE heading into Week 10, allowing Kneeland's former teammates and coaches some much-needed downtime to grieve and reflect, Parsons doesn't have much of a choice in needing to flip the page rather quickly to prepare for a showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles on ESPN's Monday Night Football.