The annual war of attrition has claimed yet another Cowboy, with one member of the coaching staff offering an all-too-rare reminder this week of the human side to the sport and the very personal cost to the men who make it their life’s work.
Safety Markquese Bell will miss the remainder of the 2024 season, it was announced Wednesday. That decision comes after the third-year man out of Florida A&M suffered a dislocated shoulder while making a tackle in Monday night’s game with the Texans.
Per Todd Archer of ESPN, multiple sources report that the injury may require surgery. It looked quite serious in the moment, and Bell needed considerable help getting off the field after it happened in the second quarter of the 34-10 loss.
After a second season that saw him get converted to linebacker under Dan Quinn, Bell had seen fairly limited action back at safety with Mike Zimmer’s defense in 2024. He had played just 34 defensive snaps, but Bell had become a real standout among special teams players.
#MarkqueseBell
By video, clear anterior/inferior shoulder dislocation
Worse than typical, likely surgery pic.twitter.com/HoiXgRYmyF— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) November 19, 2024
Special teams coordinator John Fassel visibly choked up talking about Bell this week during his weekly press conference.
“That one hurts,” Fassel said when asked about the loss of the 25-year-old.
“He’s played as good [on] special teams through 10 games as I can remember,” Fassel told reporters Tuesday. “He got hurt doing what he does best, just flying in there, diving. He’s going to be okay, but man. Just, gosh. I’ve just spent so much time with these guys in meetings and the practice field and the game field. And the emotions of [going] undrafted to wanting a little bit more and accepting his role and thriving in his role… damn. I’m hurting for him, because he was on a mission. He was as good as we’ve had in a while.”
S Markquese Bell will miss the rest of the season with a dislocated left shoulder that may require surgery, per multiple sources. Special teams coordinator John Fassel became emotional when talking about Bell Tuesday, knowing the severity of the injury and the loss for the unit.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) November 20, 2024
A reflective Fassel went on to talk about the relationship he’s developed with so many of his players, world-class athletes who typically don’t get the credit they deserve for sacrificing themselves over and over on seemingly routine plays that often fly well under the average fan’s radar.
“These young men are very human. Gosh, and they want so much out of their career. And I want it for them,” Fassel explained. “They’re special humans, and what they do on a daily basis is very unique.”
But injuries come part and parcel with the sport for everyone who plays it, and now the Cowboys must find a way to replace Bell on the field for the final seven games of the schedule.
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Just like Bell went back to work the morning after getting hurt, to take the first steps down his road to recovery. Fassel talked about seeing Bell in the trainers’ room just that morning and was already looking ahead to seeing him back on a football field.
Fassel hinted, though, that both men know that both being back in the star when that happens is not guaranteed.
“He had the whole thing slinged up, and he was emotional, too, because he knew what he was producing. Maybe not everybody else does, but he was producing as good as it’s been. Hopefully he’ll heal up and be back better than ever. I’m sure he will, because he’s a tough-ass kid. He is an outstanding football player. He’s got some great stuff in his future.”
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