WATCH: Patriots Rookie TE Bell Makes First Preseason Catch

New England Patriots football is back! The 2024 NFL season is officially here as the Patriots first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers is underway.

On the team's second drive of the second half, 7th round rookie tight end Jaheim Bell made his first reception as a Patriot, an 11-yard bootleg play from Bailey Zappe where the quarterback had to alter his arm angle to hit Bell in stride. Bell caught the pass just past the line of scrimmage and would run for the first down:

This is the first preseason game for the New England Patriots against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. The team will play two more before they must cut the roster to 53 players in preparation for Week 1 of the NFL Regular season. The Patriots will open the year on the road at Paycor Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 8th at 1 PM EST.

The team selected Bell with the No. 231 overall selection in the seventh round of this year's draft out of Florida State. You can find a list of the rest of the rookies drafted this season on the Patriots roster here .

The game is also be the first under the new head coaching regime led by former player Jerod Mayo. He takes over with huge shoes to fill after New England moved on from future Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick after 24 seasons.

Be sure to stay up to date with Patriots Country to catch more highlights and analysis from Thursday’s Preseason opener.