DALLAS - Michael Irvin, the Dallas Cowboys' all-time leading receiver and one of the NFL's most popular players, was indicted on two counts of drug possession yesterday. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Irvin and two female companions were indicted by a grand jury less than a month after police found them in a motel room littered with cocaine and marijuana.

The indictment charges Irvin with felony possession of at least 4 grams of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Irvin, former teammate Alfredo Roberts and the two women, described by police as topless dancers, were found in an Irving motel room on March 4 with drugs and paraphernalia.

Jail officials said Irvin was arrested after the indictments were returned, then released on $5,500 bond. He was seen entering the grand jury courtroom at about 1:30 p.m. yesterday and was seen leaving the Lew Sterrett Justice Center with Roberts at about 3 p.m.

Just 10 weeks earlier, Irvin helped the Cowboys to their third Super Bowl championship in four years.

Telephone messages left with Irvin's attorney, Kevin Clancy, were not immediately returned. No trial date has been set for the case.

There was no decision on whether to indict Roberts, a 31-year-old business associate of Irvin, said a spokeswoman with the district attorney's office.

Irvin and one of the women, Angela Renee Beck, face punishment of two to 20 years and a fine of $10,000 if convicted on the cocaine charge. The misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to 180 days in county jail and or a $2,000 fine.

Beck was charged with felony possession of at least 4 grams of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Jasmine J. Nabwangu was charged with possessing less than a gram of cocaine, a felony, and with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Nabwangu could face 180 days to two years in jail and/ or a $10,000 fine if convicted of the cocaine charge.

Police said Beck claimed the drugs belonged to her, and officials estimated their worth to be $6,000. She was the only one arrested when the drugs were seized on March 4.

Roberts and the women had been offered immunity from prosecution for their testimony, Fort Worth television station KXAS had reported.

Irving police said they found the drugs and paraphernalia in the motel room after responding to a motel manager's complaint about a noisy party involving possible prostitution and drug use.

In an article published this week in Sports Illustrated, Irving police officer Matt Drumm, one of four officers who went to the motel room, said they knocked repeatedly at the door and heard people moving around inside.

''When we did get the door (partially) open, they had the security bar on it. A big cloud of smoke came out,'' he told the magazine.

When the officers displayed their handcuffs, a male voice inside the room asked, ''Can I tell you who I am?''

KXAS quoted sources close to the investigation as saying Irvin's fingerprints were found on various items in the room, including dinner plates on which drugs were found.