Dallas Cowboys’ Markquese Bell no stranger to adversity as he endures another life road bump
When Dallas Cowboys safety Markquese Bell is in the locker room during the season, he’s typically reserved and keeps to himself. The Florida A&M product, who is now heading into his fourth NFL season, has played a lot of roles and is frequently called upon when the defensive unit or the special teams unit gets in a pinch.
Whether it’s being one of the team’s best special teams player or filling in at linebacker for eight games in 2023, Bell has been a useful Swiss Army knife since arriving as an undrafted free agent signing in 2022.
Despite his known presence, he mainly lets his play on the field speak for him. But walking around media row in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX, he was the one seeking out conversation.
Coming off a 2024 season where he suffered a gruesome separated shoulder injury on a kickoff and missed the final eight games, he has yet to speak on the worst injury he said he’s ever had in his football career.
“I’ve never been hurt to have to have surgery, so it was something new,” Bell said. “It was a challenge to overcome. This happened to me this year, who’s to say I don’t come back stronger next year? Keep putting God first, he has a plan.”
Hoping to be cleared by OTAs in mid-May, Bell is no stranger to adversity. After being kicked off his original college team at Maryland due to violating team rules, Bell had to prove himself at the HBCU level at Florida A&M. Going into the NFL, the odds were steep to overcome being an undrafted free agent into being on a 53-man roster, but it was something he accomplished in his rookie season.
With this setback now hitting after he can finally say he’s established his spot in the league, he sees it as just another bump on the road he has in front of him.
“That’s just life,” he said. “Don’t ask why it’s happening to you, just deal with it. Look at the bright side, some people don’t get to wake up the next day. The things that you take for granted, a lot of people would kill for. Adversity is just another blessing.”
Another blessing that could be coming his way is a new contract. Heading into restricted free agency, something he admits he does not completely understand, Bell could be in line for a bigger payday than his rookie deal. Regardless, he has a return to Dallas at the front of his mind.
“I don’t really know what restricted free agency means, it’s confusing,” Bell said. “I just know they signed me for three years and one, two, three is done. I definitely want to stay with the Cowboys. I’m comfortable, it’s like a family. But if God has another plan, God has another plan.”
His development from an unknown college free agent to a staple on the Cowboys roster hasn’t been an easy journey. As he hopes to return to Dallas, he does it with the memory of a family member he lost in a shooting in the summer of 2023.
Walking around Media Row, Bell wore a pendant around his neck with a picture of his little cousin who was killed at the age of 16. It’s something that still evokes emotion from the otherwise all-business Bell, as he hopes whatever happens in his future NFL career that he can do it in honor of one of his closest family members.
“It wasn’t more so what he did, it was more so what he didn’t get the chance to do,” Bell said. “He died at 16. He never got to see his dreams. He never got that college scholarship offer. I want him to live through me.”
With a heavy heart and a tenacious, versatile playing style hitting the field in 2025, Bell knows his family is with him as well. For him, it’s no longer about him. Three seasons into the NFL, it’s about the people who live through him now.
“I just want to keep excelling. I want to stay.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 11:41 AM.
