Bell (shoulder) and the Cowboys agreed on a three-year, $12 million contract Sunday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Bell finished the 2024 campaign on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, compiling six total tackles (five solo) over nine regular-season games before being shut down. The safety operated mostly as a special-teams option last season, and he'll look to carve out a more significant role on defense in 2025.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Shifts to IR
Rotowire
Bell (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
This was an expected transaction after the rotational safety suffered a gruesome dislocated shoulder back in Week 11. Bell is widely regarded as one of the better special teams aces in the league, so his absence will be missed.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Won't return this season
Rotowire
Bell will miss the remainder of the season due to a dislocated shoulder suffered in Monday's loss to the Texans, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.
Bell may ultimately need surgery to repair his shoulder and will likely be placed on injured reserve in the very near future. The absence of the Flordia A&M product will be a significant blow to the Cowboys' special-teams unit.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Ruled out Monday night
Rotowire
Bell (shoulder) will not return to Monday night's game against the Texans, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.
The safety got hurt in the first half while attempting a tackle on a kickoff return. Bell did not record a stat before exiting. The third-year pro has played mostly on special teams this year.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Questionable to return Monday
Rotowire
Bell (shoulder) is questionable to return to Monday night's game against the Texans, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
The safety got hurt while attempting a tackle on a kickoff return. Bell did not record a stat before exiting. The third-year pro has played mostly on special teams this year.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Full go Wednesday
Rotowire
Bell (ankle) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Bell missed the Cowboys' Week 4 win over the Giants after sustaining an ankle injury the week prior, but following Wednesday's full practice session, it appears he's moved past the issue. Expect Bell to serve as a depth piece in Dallas' secondary as the season progresses.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Not playing Week 4
Rotowire
Bell (ankle) is inactive for Thursday's game against the Giants, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.
Bell wasn't able to practice all week, so he'll be held out of Thursday's NFC East showdown. His next chance at suiting up will be Week 5 against the Steelers on Oct. 6. Israel Mukuamu and Juanyeh Thomas are in line to see increased work as Dallas' reserve safeties behind starters Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Waiting for results
Rotowire
Bell (ankle) underwent an MRI on Monday, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Bell is awaiting details on the severity of the injury that took him out of Sunday's 28-25 loss to the Ravens. More clarity on the backup safety's status for Thursday's game against the Giants should come when the team releases its first injury report.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Unlikely to repeat IDP performance
Rotowire
Bell's production in 2024 is unlikely to match the career-high 94 tackles he collected over 17 regular-season games last season.
Undrafted in 2022 out of Florida A&M, Bell broke out in 2023 as one of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn's favorites, filling a hybrid linebacker-safety role that put him in position for a high tackle total despite the fact that he was on the field for only 612 defensive snaps. Quinn left in the offseason to take the head coaching job in Washington, however, and new DC Mike Zimmer's scheme doesn't have the same history of deploying safeties in a flexible manner. The Cowboys also bolstered their linebacking corps over the winter with free-agent signing Eric Kendricks and 2024 third-round pick Marist Liufau, leaving less need for Bell to reinforce their ranks. If he's stuck in a rotational role as a pure safety behind Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, Bell's IDP numbers will have nowhere to go but down.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Pops for 10 stops
Rotowire
Bell recorded 10 tackles (eight solo) in a Week 17 win over the Lions.
The hybrid linebacker-safety produced double-digit tackles for the second time this season as he continues to provide solid deep-league IDP value in Dan Quinn's scheme. Bell, who went undrafted in 2022 out of Florida A&M and saw only 20 snaps on defense over five games as a rookie, has erupted for 92 tackles, three passes defended and two forced fumbles over 16 games this season.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Paces team in tackles Week 13
Rotowire
Bell logged eight tackles (four solo) in Thursday's 41-35 win against the Seahawks.
Bell played on 84 percent of Dallas' defensive snaps in the victory and led the team in stops. His tackle total has been up and down throughout the campaign, as he's recorded seven or more stops in five games but has also posted four or fewer six times. Bell's role does seem to be growing, as he's logged at least 73 percent of the Cowboys' defensive snaps each of the past three weeks.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Leading tackler in Week 11 win
Rotowire
Bell recorded a career-high 10 tackles (six solo) in Sunday's win over the Panthers.
The undrafted second-year player has slipped into the hybrid safety/linebacker role in a Dan Quinn defense that has led to IDP value for plenty of others, and Bell's workload has only grown since Leighton Vander Esch (neck) landed on IR. In five games without Vander Esch on the field, Bell has collected 33 tackles -- a 112-tackle pace over a full season.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Tending to calf injury
Rotowire
Bell (calf) was a limited participant at practice Thursday, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
Bell appears to be in jeopardy of missing his first game of the season in Week 10 with a calf issue. Unless he's able to upgrade to full participation at practice Friday, he'll probably carry an injury designation into the weekend.
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Cowboys' Markquese Bell: Making push for roster spot
Rotowire
Bell has impressed the Cowboys' coaching staff in the early days of training camp and could earn a roster spot as a key special-teams contributor, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
The undrafted rookie out of Florida A&M drew praise from coach Mike McCarthy on Friday. "He's been extremely impressive," McCarthy said. "I'll tell you, he's probably - of the rookie class - one of the top guys who jumped out in the offseason program. We felt right away that this young man has an excellent chance to do some excellent things, and he hasn't disappointed at all." Bell might not see many snaps on defense as a rookie, but he could position himself to be part of Dallas' future in the secondary behind veteran safeties Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker.
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