CHICAGO – Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd was locked up in federal custody Thursday as his stunned teammates learned he had been arrested with more than a pound of cocaine and charged with trying to set up a drug-dealing network.

U.S. Magistrate Young Kim ordered Hurd held until at least today while prosecutors and defense attorneys work out bond details before he is sent to Texas to face charges. The handcuffed Hurd declined comment to a reporter before the hearing.

Asked if he was still a member of the Bears, he said: “As far as I know.” He shook his head when asked if he had talked to anyone on the team.

Hurd was arrested Wednesday night after meeting with an undercover agent at a Chicago restaurant, according to a criminal complaint that says the player was first identified as a potential drug dealer over the summer as the NFL lockout was coming to an end.

Hurd told the agent that he was interested in buying five to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in the Chicago area, the complaint said. He allegedly said he and a co-conspirator already distribute about four kilos of cocaine every week, but their supplier couldn’t keep up with his demands.

Hurd told the agent “his co-conspirator is in charge of doing the majority of the deals” while he focused on “higher-end deals,” the complaint said.

He agreed to pay $25,000 for each kilogram of cocaine and $450 a pound for the marijuana, according to the charges, and then said he could pay for a kilo of cocaine after “he gets out of practice.” He walked out of the restaurant with the package and was arrested.

The criminal complaint was filed in Texas, where the U.S. attorney said Hurd faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine if convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, or half a kilogram.

Hurd’s agent, Ian Greengross, did not return messages. The NFL said it was looking into the incident, and the NFL Players Association declined to comment.

Coach Lovie Smith said the arrest was a disappointment and a “total surprise,” adding that Hurd was still a member of the Bears for now.

“Sam wasn’t in meetings this morning and that’s how from there of course we started searching trying to find out why a player wouldn’t be here,” Smith said. “There was no tipoff, didn’t know it was coming.”

Smith said there was no reason to believe Hurd had problems when the Bears signed him before the season.

“No issues, no reason. I’m in shock over it. I never saw it coming,” Smith said. “But just like I think I know most of you, you don’t really know what people do once you’re not with them. But I know that anyone we bring through here, we’ve had an extensive search to find out everything, if there is something out there, and that wasn’t the case. There was nothing we knew about Sam.”

Hurd, a 26-year-old native of San Antonio, played five seasons with Dallas and is in his first season with the Bears. He has contributed mostly on special teams and has played in 12 games this year, catching eight passes for 109 yards.

Teammates said they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

“It’s a situation that you don’t, I don’t, want anybody to be in, especially a close friend, a teammate that I’ve been playing with now for four or five years,” said wide receiver Roy Williams, who played with Hurd in Dallas before being reunited on the Bears this year. “Especially a guy from Texas with a wife and a daughter. … I know it has to be tough for him because he has his family.”

 

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