Jaheim Cameron Bell (born June 14, 2001) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

and the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

Early life

Bell attended

Valdosta High School Valdosta High School is a public high school located in Valdosta, Georgia, United States. It is a part of the Valdosta City School District. The boundary of the school district (for which this is the sole comprehensive high school) is that of t ...

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

. He played both tight end and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in high school. He tore his ACL midway through his senior season which caused him to miss the rest of the year. Bell originally committed to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

to play college football but changed to the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

College career

Bell played in five games as a freshman at South Carolina in 2020, recording one reception for 29 yards. As a sophomore in 2021, he played in 13 games with five starts and had 30 receptions for 497 yards and five touchdowns. His 2022 season was notable for his lack of carries and touches despite off-season hype coming off the previous year's Dukes Mayo Bowl. His uncle and mother both tweeted and caused a stir regarding the perceived lack of production and usage by the offensive coaching staff. Bell entered the transfer portal on December 5, 2022, signing with the Florida State Seminoles the following Monday.

Professional career

Bell was selected with the 231st overall pick in the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

by the

. The Patriots had acquired that pick from the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in a trade for N'Keal Harry. Bell signed his rookie contract with the Patriots on May 10, 2024. On November 3, 2024 during a game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, Bell made his first career NFL catch.

References

External links

New England Patriots bioSouth Carolina Gamecocks bioFlorida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Jaheim 2001 births Living people Players of American football from Lake City, Florida Players of American football from Valdosta, Georgia American football tight ends South Carolina Gamecocks football players Florida State Seminoles football players New England Patriots players