Jerry Jones spoke Tuesday for the first time since the death of Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.

The Cowboys owner and general manager said during a weekly radio appearance that he was “devastated” by the news that the 24-year-old died last Thursday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Jones said he appreciated how the other NFL teams honored Kneeland before their recent games.

“We all are having to share the sorrow, all are having to share the different ways or different things that come through your mind,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “It’s not light that as a teammate, Marshawn touched everybody in many different ways. The very definition of team is we love each other, we rely on each other. That’s the ethos of what a team is about. Everybody expects that this is a rough game, it takes some real mental toughness to play the game, but in fact there’s a lot of love for each other there that is shared in unique ways, and you get to know each other pretty good.

“It’s just a multi-faceted mental thing that is going through everyone’s mind, of course his teammates, and I know for the fans. Sports emphasizes so many things that we all want, to some degree, hang our hat on. But this is a reality check that at the end of the day, the human things of having someone’s company on earth, being able to be involved with them for the time that we’re here, they’re here, all of those things come to mind in times like this.”

The Cowboys plan to honor Kneeland by wearing a helmet decal and special T-shirts in upcoming games. There will also be a video tribute and moment of silence before the Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 23 at AT&T Stadium. Kneeland’s family and girlfriend are scheduled to attend that game.

“This is just a time when you acknowledge that there are no answers,” Jones said. “It makes you want to live life to the fullest. It makes you want to look for the very best in what we have for each other and in some way make sense out of these times, in terms of what they can mean from helping those who are here on earth right now.”

The Cowboys returned to The Star on Monday after being on their bye week last week. They play the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Monday night.

Kneeland was in his second season with the Cowboys after being drafted in the second round out of Western Michigan last year.

“His death is such a national awareness thing that it takes on some of that light,” Jones said. “We think about how we go forward. From the standpoint of the team and from the standpoint of going back to work, there’s no doubt in my mind that they will do so in memory of what he was all about. He was very unique in his zest for life and he was very unique in his passion for the game.

“Of course, the saddest thing for someone like me is the fact that he’s only 24 years old. You think about all of the time that we’re going to miss him, he’s going to be missed by the people around him. He was just getting started.”