NFL Player Markquese Bell Arrested on Felony Drug Charges in Texas

Markquese Bell's mugshot; Markquese Bell during a 2024 Dallas Cowboys game
Credit: collincountytx.gov; Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Markquese Bell was arrested in Texas on drug charges, including a felony charge, on Friday, April 10
• The Dallas Cowboys safety was arrested in Prosper, Texas, and held in Collin County Jail
• No additional details about the arrest have been released, and the Cowboys have declined to comment

NFL player Markquese Bell was arrested on drug charges following a traffic stop in Prosper, Texas.

Police arrested the 27-year-old Dallas Cowboys safety just after 10:00 p.m. local time on Friday, April 10, after conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of Prosper Trail and the Dallas Parkway, the Prosper Police Department said in a press release obtained by PEOPLE.

The officer conducting the stop "could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle," according to the release. "A probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted, and less than 2 ounces of marijuana and a THC e-cig were found."

Prosper police charged Bell with possession of a controlled substance and marijuana possession — which are a felony and a misdemeanor charge, respectively — in Collin County, where the football pro was arrested and jailed.

Bell was released from the Collin County Detention Facility on Saturday, April 11, according to jail records viewed by PEOPLE.

No additional details about the arrest have been released.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Deiric Jackson, Bell’s agent, said, “Certainly let Markquese have his day like anybody else.”

Markquese Bell's mugshot
Credit: collincountytx.gov

The Cowboys are aware of the arrest, but declined to comment on it, according to ESPN and AP.

A Cowboys spokesperson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, nor did Jackson.

In the wake of the arrest, Bell is subject to a penalty from the NFL under the league’s personal conduct policy, according to ESPN.

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Markquese Bell during a 2025 NFL game
Credit: Cooper Neill/Getty

Bell signed with Dallas as a rookie free agent out of Florida A&M University in 2022. He played all 17 games in the last NFL season, three of which he started, according to ESPN.

The Cowboys safety's arrest comes more than a year after the safety signed a three-year extension with the Texas team for $9 million, according to Fox News and ESPN.

Read the original article on People