Jake Dolegala

Jake Dolegala
refer to caption
Dolegala with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2024
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1996-10-07) October 7, 1996 (age 28)
Hamburg, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Saint Francis (NY)
College:Central Connecticut
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
CFL status:American
Career CFL statistics
Passing completions:247
Passing attempts:394
Passing yards:2,953
TD–INT:12–11
Stats at CFL.ca
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jake Dolegala (born October 7, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Central Connecticut, and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and BC Lions.

College career

Coming out of high school, Dolegala only had one college offer.[1][2] This led him to attend Milford Academy for their 2014 season, where he threw for 2,276 yards and 20 touchdowns.[3]

Dolegala was recruited to play at Central after his year at the Milford Academy. In his first year for the Blue Devils he appeared in 10 games and had seven passing touchdowns and three rushing.[4] Dolegala was a four-year starter for the Central Connecticut Blue Devils, where he threw for 8,129 yards and 48 touchdowns.[5]

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

After going undrafted in the 2019 NFL draft, Dolegala signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.[6][7] He spent the entire 2019 NFL season on the Bengals' 53-man roster, but did not appear in a game for the Bengals. After the Bengals drafted Joe Burrow first overall, Dolegala competed for the team's backup quarterback position with Ryan Finley. Dolegala was waived during the team's final cutdowns on September 5, 2020.[8]

New England Patriots (first stint)

On September 16, 2020, Dolegala was signed to the practice squad of the New England Patriots.[9] He was released by the Patriots on November 12.[10] Dolegala was re-signed to the practice squad on November 16.[11] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021.[12] On April 30, 2021, Dolegala was waived by the Patriots after they drafted Mac Jones.[13]

Green Bay Packers (first stint)

On June 10, 2021, Dolegala signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers.[14] He was released on July 27, 2021.[15]

New England Patriots (second stint)

On July 28, 2021, Dolegala was claimed off waivers by the Patriots.[16] He was waived on August 9, 2021.[17]

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

On August 17, 2021, Dolegala signed with the Packers.[18] He was waived on August 27, 2021.[19]

Miami Dolphins

On October 27, 2021, Dolegala was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad.[20] He was released on November 17.[21]

On December 17, 2021, it was reported that Dolegala would sign with the Cleveland Browns.[22] The deal ended up not coming to fruition after the Browns signed Kyle Lauletta off of the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad.[23]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On February 15, 2022, Dolegala signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.[24] With starting quarterback Cody Fajardo nursing an injured knee and possible Covid infection, Dolegala finally took his first professional regular-season snap and made his first CFL start on July 24, 2022, when he was named the starting quarterback against the Toronto Argonauts.[25] In his debut performance Dolegala completed 13 of 28 pass attempts for 131 yards with one touchdown and one interception as the Riders were defeated 31–21.[26] Dolegala was suspended for one game by the team in late September 2022 after he was arrested for impaired driving.[27]

He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.[28]

BC Lions

On February 14, 2024, it was announced that Dolegala had signed a one-year contract worth a maximum of $172,800 with the BC Lions.[29] He went 15 for 26, throwing for 158 yards in two games for the Lions, and started in one, following the injury to Vernon Adams. Following the signing of Nathan Rourke, Dolegala was released on August 14, 2024.[30]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On September 16, 2024, it was announced that Dolegala had signed a practice roster agreement with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[31]

Professional statistics

Passing Rushing
Year Team GD GS Att Comp Pct Yards TD Int QBR Att Yards Avg Long TD
2022 SSK 2 1 35 16 45.7 154 1 2 44.2 2 12 6.0 7 0
2023 SSK 13 9 333 216 64.9 2,641 11 9 88.9 26 95 3.7 12 1
2024 BC 9 1 26 15 57.7 158 0 0 75.5 1 5 5.0 5 0
CFL totals 24 11 394 247 62.7 2,953 12 11 84.1 29 112 3.9 12 1

Personal life

Dolegala's grandfather Al Bemiller was a member of the 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team that won a national title; Al later played for the Buffalo Bills from 1961 to 1969.[32]

In May 2023 Dolegala was found not guilty of impaired driving after the Crown prosecutor failed to prove Dolegala's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In his testimony, the arresting officer remarked "He didn't seem impaired."[33]

References

  1. ^ "NFL Draft: FCS quarterback Jacob Dolegala sneaking up draft boards". Saturday Blitz. March 23, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  2. ^ Skurski, Jay (March 17, 2019). "If you don't know QB prospect Jake Dolegala, here's why you should". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "Undrafted but undeterred, St. Francis product Jake Dolegala heads to Cincinnati Bengals". buffalonews.com. April 27, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "Jacob Dolegala". ccsubluedevils.com. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Glovach, David (April 27, 2019). "CCSU quarterback Dolegala signs rookie free agent deal with Cincinnati Bengals". New Britain Herald. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Sheeran, John (April 27, 2019). "Bengals sign QB Jake Dolegala as undrafted free agent". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  7. ^ Wolf, Jason (September 19, 2019). "Hamburg's Jake Dolegala, grandson of AFL champion, back in Buffalo with Bengals". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  8. ^ "Bengals Reduce 2020 Roster To 53 Players". Bengals.com. September 5, 2020.
  9. ^ "Patriots Sign Two Players to the 53-Man Roster from the Practice Squad; Add Two Players to the Practice Squad". Patriots.com. September 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Callahan, Andrew (November 12, 2020). "Patriots re-sign LB Cassh Maluia, waive practice-squad QB Jake Dolegala". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Patriots re-sign QB Jake Dolegala to the practice squad; release TE David Wells from the practice squad". Patriots.com. November 16, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "Patriots Sign 10 Players to Future Contracts". Patriots.com. January 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "Patriots Release Quarterback Jake Dolegala". Patriots.com. April 30, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  14. ^ "Packers sign QB Jake Dolegala". packers.com. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Packers release QBs Blake Bortles and Jake Dolegala". packers.com. July 27, 2021. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  16. ^ Thomas, Oliver (July 28, 2021). "Patriots claim quarterback Jake Dolegala off waivers from Packers". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  17. ^ Buchmasser, Bernd (August 9, 2021). "Patriots release backup quarterback Jake Dolegala". Pats Pulpit. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  18. ^ Demovsky, Rob (August 17, 2021). "Green Bay Packers bringing back Jake Dolegala for QB depth". ESPN. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "Packers sign CB Rojesterman Farris". packers.com. August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  20. ^ "Roster Moves: Miami Dolphins Sign QB Dolegala to Practice Squad". MiamiDolphins.com. October 27, 2021.
  21. ^ "Dolphins cut Jake Dolegala from practice squad, sign Sheldrick Redwine". November 18, 2021.
  22. ^ "Browns to Sign QB Jacob Dolegala per Report".
  23. ^ "Browns Won't Sign QB Jake Dolegala, G Wyatt Teller Returning from Reserve/COVID-19 List".
  24. ^ "Roughriders Sign Quarterback Jake Dolegala". riderville.com. February 15, 2022.
  25. ^ TSN ca Staff (July 23, 2022). "Dolegala listed as No. 1 QB on Riders' depth chart ahead of Argos game – TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  26. ^ "2022-07-24 Game Tracker – Toronto Argonauts vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (6237)". CFL.ca. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  27. ^ TSN ca Staff (September 26, 2022). "Riders suspend Dolegala after impaired driving arrest – TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  28. ^ "Official 2024 Free Agent Tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  29. ^ "QB Jake Dolegala joins Lions on one-year deal". BC Lions. February 14, 2024.
  30. ^ "Lions release QB's Dolegala, Armstrong". TSN. August 14, 2024.
  31. ^ "Bombers add QBs Jake Dolegala and Bryan Scott to practice roster". Canadian Football League. September 16, 2024.
  32. ^ Wolf, Jason (April 27, 2019). "Undrafted but undeterred, St. Francis product Jake Dolegala heads to Cincinnati Bengals". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  33. ^ "Roughriders QB Dolegala found not guilty of driving impaired". leaderpost. Retrieved May 24, 2023.