Markquese Bell
{{Short description|American football player (born 1999)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Markquese Bell
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_team = Dallas Cowboys
| number = 14
| position = Safety
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1999|1|6|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Bridgeton, New Jersey, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 205
| high_school = Bridgeton
| college = Coffeyville CC (2018)
Florida A&M (2019–2021)
| undraftedyear = 2022
| pastteams =
- Dallas Cowboys ({{NFL Year|2022}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
| statseason = 2023
| statweek =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 95
| statlabel2 = Pass deflections
| statvalue2 = 4
| statlabel3 = Interceptions
| statvalue3 =
| statlabel4 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue4 = 2
| statlabel5 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue5 =
| statlabel6 = Defensive touchdowns
| statvalue6 =
| pfr = BellMa01
}}
Markquese Bell (born January 6, 1999) is an American professional football safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida A&M Rattlers.
Early life
Bell grew up in Bridgeton, New Jersey and attended Bridgeton High School.{{Cite web |last=McGarry |first=Mike |date=May 1, 2022 |title=Bo Melton, Isiah Pacheco and Markquese Bell celebrate the start of their NFL careers |url=https://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/bo-melton-isiah-pacheco-and-markquese-bell-celebrate-the-start-of-their-nfl-careers/article_69f6d804-c8cf-11ec-93dc-4bb90f43f027.html |access-date=August 31, 2022 |website=Press of Atlantic City}} As a senior, he was the starter at quarterback and defensive back, tallying 885 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns, 76 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 pass breakups and one forced fumble. He was a two-time second-team all-state selection and the 2015 South Jersey Times Offensive Player of the Year.
He was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at Maryland over offers from Ohio State, Rutgers, and Virginia.{{Cite web |last=Wasserman |first=Ari |date=January 1, 2017 |title=Markquese Bell, a four-star athlete and Ohio State target, commits to Maryland |url=https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2017/01/markquese_bell_a_four-star_and.html |access-date=August 31, 2022 |website=Cleveland.com}}
College career
Bell accepted a football scholarship from the University of Maryland. He was suspended entering his freshman season due to a violation of the team's code of conduct.{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Adam |date=August 25, 2017 |title=Markquese Bell, Alex Woods Suspended by Maryland for Violating Code of Conduct |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2729563-markquese-bell-alex-woods-suspended-by-maryland-for-violating-code-of-conduct |access-date=August 31, 2022 |website=Bleacher Report}} He was ultimately expelled from the school before ever playing in a game for the Terrapins.{{Cite web |last=Markus |first=Don |date=November 7, 2017 |title=Suspended safety Markquese Bell announces he will be leaving Maryland |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terps/bs-sp-bell-maryland-withdraw-1108-story.html |access-date=August 31, 2022 |website=Baltimore Sun}}
He transferred to Coffeyville Community College for the 2018 season and made 52 tackles with two interceptions. After the season, Bell transferred to Florida A&M University.{{Cite web |last=Henry |first=Jim |date=March 27, 2019 |title=FAMU four-star transfer Markquese Bell shines in spring camp |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/famu/2019/03/27/famu-four-star-transfer-markquese-bell-shines-spring-camp/3257942002/ |access-date=August 31, 2022 |website=Tallahassee Democrat}}
As a sophomore in 2019, he started 11 games at safety, posting 61 tackles (5 for loss), 5 interceptions (tied for the conference lead), 9 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles.
In 2020, he was not able to play, as the school opted to cancel its football games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a senior in 2021, he started 12 games, registering 95 tackles (led the team), 6.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, one interception, one pass breakup and 5 forced fumbles. He had 15 tackles (one for loss), one sack, and one forced fumble against the University of South Florida.
=College statistics=
| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| Bold
| Career high |
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||
| Season | Team | GP | Solo | Ast | Tot | Int | Avg | Yds | TD | PD | FF | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 || Florida A&M
| 11 || 39 || 24 || 63 || 4 || 9.7 || 39 || 0 || - || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2020 || Florida A&M
| colspan="14"| Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||||
| 2021 || Florida A&M
| 12 || 71 || 24 || 95 || 1 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || - || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.footballdb.com/players/markquese-bell-bellma05 Total] | 23 | 110 | 48 | 158 | 5 | 4.8 | 39 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 2 1/8
| weight = 212
| dash = 4.41
| ten split = 1.51
| twenty split = 2.56
| shuttle = 4.37
| cone drill = 7.25
| vertical = 36.5
| broad ft = 10
| broad in = 3
| arm span = 32 3/8
| hand span = 9 3/8
| note = Sources:{{Cite web |title=Markquese Bell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/markquese-bell/32004245-4c50-8906-cda2-e5c5f66a61bd |access-date=January 16, 2023 |website=NFL.com}}{{Cite web |title=2022 Draft Scout Markquese Bell, Florida AM NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1004197&DraftYear=2022 |access-date=January 16, 2023 |website=draftscout.com}}
}}
Bell was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2022 NFL draft on May 1.{{Cite web |last=Gehlken |first=Michael |date=May 2, 2022 |title=Cowboys S Markquese Bell one of 20 undrafted free agents to reach terms |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/cowboys/2022/05/02/cowboys-s-markquese-bell-one-of-20-undrafted-free-agents-to-reach-terms/ |access-date=August 31, 2022 |website=The Dallas Morning News}}{{Cite web |last=Henry |first=Jim |date=August 30, 2022 |title=Undrafted in April, ex-FAMU star Markquese Bell makes Dallas Cowboys |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/2022/08/30/undrafted-april-former-famu-star-markquese-bell-makes-dallas-cowboys/7943312001/ |access-date=August 31, 2022 |website=Tallahassee Democrat}} He was declared inactive in 12 games. He appeared in 5 games as a backup and compiled one tackle on defense.{{Cite web |title=Markquese Bell 2022 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BellMa01/gamelog/2022/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}
In 2023, after rookie DeMarvion Overshown suffered a season-ending injury, Bell passed Devin Harper on the depth chart for the strongside linebacker job. By the end of the season, the effectiveness of camouflaging safeties as hybrid linebackers eventually caught up with the Cowboys and the team was exposed defending the run game. Bell appeared in 17 games with 8 starts, registering 103 tackles (second on the team), 3 tackles for loss and 4 pass breakups. He had 8 tackles (one for loss) and one forced fumble in the season opener against the New York Giants. He made 7 tackles and one pass breakup against the Los Angeles Chargers. He had 10 tackles against the Detroit Lions. He made 9 tackles and one quarterback pressure in the 32–48 Wildcard Playoff loss against the Green Bay Packers. His efforts earned him the NFL's HBCU Spotlight Player of the Year award.{{cite web | last=Alfano | first=Jonathan | title=Cowboys Safety Named HBCU Player Of The Year | website=SI.com| date=2024-01-31 | url=https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/dallas-cowboys-markquese-bell-hbcu-spotlight-player-of-the-year-nfl | access-date=2024-09-02}}
Bell made nine appearances for Dallas in 2024, logging six combined tackles. On November 20, 2024, it was announced that Bell would require season–ending surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder he suffered in Week 11.{{Cite web|title=Cowboys' Markquese Bell to have season-ending shoulder surgery|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/42507695/cowboys-s-markquese-bell-shoulder-remainder-season|access-date=November 21, 2024|website=espn.com|language=en}}
On March 9, 2025, Bell signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension with the Cowboys.{{cite web|title=Markquese Bell signs multi-year contract extension with Cowboys|url=https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/markquese-bell-cowboys-agree-to-terms-on-multi-year-contract-extension|author=Walker, Patrik|website=DallasCowboys.com|date=March 9, 2025}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| Bold
| Career high |
=Regular season=
| class= "wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Tackles ! colspan="4"| Fumbles ! colspan="4"| Interceptions | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | TD | PD | |
| 2022 | DAL
| 5 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | DAL
| 17 || 12 || 94 || 61 || 33 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 | |||||||||||||
| 2024 | DAL
| 9 || 0 || 6 || 5 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2025 | DAL
| 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/4241921/markquese-bell Career] | 31 | 12 | 101 | 67 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
=Postseason=
| class= "wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Tackles ! colspan="4"| Fumbles ! colspan="4"| Interceptions | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | TD | PD | |
| 2022 | DAL
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | DAL
| 1 || 1 || 8 || 5 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/4241921/markquese-bell Career] | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{footballstats|yahoo=34624}}
- [https://www.dallascowboys.com/team/players-roster/markquese-bell/#expand Dallas Cowboys bio]
- [https://famuathletics.com/sports/football/roster/markquese-bell/2866 Florida A&M Rattlers bio]
{{Dallas Cowboys roster navbox}}{{Black College Football Pro Player of the Year Award winners}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Markquese}}
Category:Players of American football from Cumberland County, New Jersey
Category:American football safeties
Category:Bridgeton High School alumni
Category:Dallas Cowboys players
Category:Florida A&M Rattlers football players