Jake Dolegala Explained

Jake Dolegala
Position:Quarterback
Birth Date:7 October 1996
Birth Place:Hamburg, New York, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:7
Weight Lb:242
High School:Saint Francis (NY)
College:Central Connecticut
Undraftedyear:2019
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Cflstatus:American
Cflstatlabel1:Passing completions
Cflstatvalue1:247
Cflstatlabel2:Passing attempts
Cflstatvalue2:394
Cflstatlabel3:Passing yards
Cflstatvalue3:2,953
Cflstatlabel4:TDINT
Cflstatvalue4:12–11
Pfr:D/DoleJa00
Cfl:jake-dolegala/164831/

Jake Dolegala (born October 7, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He most recently played for the BC Lions 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, and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

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]

Professional statistics

PassingRushing
YearTeam
2022SSK2 135 16 45.7 154 1 2 44.22 12 6.0 7 0
2023SSK13 9333 216 64.9 2,641 11 9 88.926 95 3.7 12 1
2024BC9 126 15 57.7 158 0 0 75.51 5 5.0 5 0
CFL totals24 11394 247 62.7 2,953 12 11 84.129 112 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.[31]

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."[32]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: March 23, 2019 . NFL Draft: FCS quarterback Jacob Dolegala sneaking up draft boards . June 5, 2019 . Saturday Blitz . en-US.
  2. News: Skurski, Jay . March 17, 2019 . If you don't know QB prospect Jake Dolegala, here's why you should . . November 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190317182642/https://buffalonews.com/2019/03/17/jake-dolegala-nfl-draft-central-connecticut-state-s-francis/ . March 17, 2019.
  3. Web site: Undrafted but undeterred, St. Francis product Jake Dolegala heads to Cincinnati Bengals . buffalonews.com . April 27, 2019. June 7, 2021 .
  4. Web site: Jacob Dolegala . ccsubluedevils.com . June 7, 2021.
  5. Web site: Glovach . David . April 27, 2019 . CCSU quarterback Dolegala signs rookie free agent deal with Cincinnati Bengals . New Britain Herald.
  6. Web site: Sheeran . John . April 27, 2019 . Bengals sign QB Jake Dolegala as undrafted free agent . June 5, 2019 . Cincy Jungle.
  7. News: Wolf, Jason . September 19, 2019 . Hamburg's Jake Dolegala, grandson of AFL champion, back in Buffalo with Bengals . . November 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190920130128/https://buffalonews.com/2019/09/19/buffalo-bills-cincinnati-bengals-jake-dolegala-grandson-afl-champion-al-bemiller-returning-nfl-week-3-home-opener-2019/ . September 20, 2019.
  8. Web site: Bengals Reduce 2020 Roster To 53 Players. Bengals.com. September 5, 2020.
  9. Web site: 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. News: Patriots re-sign LB Cassh Maluia, waive practice-squad QB Jake Dolegala . Andrew . Callahan . . November 12, 2020 . November 12, 2020.
  11. News: Patriots re-sign QB Jake Dolegala to the practice squad; release TE David Wells from the practice squad . Patriots.com . November 16, 2020 . December 24, 2020.
  12. Web site: Patriots Sign 10 Players to Future Contracts. Patriots.com. January 4, 2021.
  13. News: Patriots Release Quarterback Jake Dolegala . Patriots.com . April 30, 2021 . May 1, 2021.
  14. Web site: Packers sign QB Jake Dolegala . packers.com . June 10, 2021.
  15. Web site: July 27, 2021. Packers release QBs Blake Bortles and Jake Dolegala. packers.com. July 27, 2021. July 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210727212006/https://www.packers.com/news/packers-release-qbs-blake-bortles-and-jake-dolegala. dead.
  16. Web site: Thomas. Oliver. 2021-07-28. Patriots claim quarterback Jake Dolegala off waivers from Packers. 2021-07-29. Pats Pulpit. en.
  17. Web site: Buchmasser. Bernd. 2021-08-09. Patriots release backup quarterback Jake Dolegala. 2021-08-09. Pats Pulpit. en.
  18. Web site: Demovsky. Rob. 2021-08-17. Green Bay Packers bringing back Jake Dolegala for QB depth. 2021-08-17. ESPN. en.
  19. Web site: Packers sign CB Rojesterman Farris. packers.com. August 27, 2021. August 27, 2021.
  20. Web site: Roster Moves: Miami Dolphins Sign QB Dolegala to Practice Squad. MiamiDolphins.com. October 27, 2021.
  21. Web site: Dolphins cut Jake Dolegala from practice squad, sign Sheldrick Redwine . November 18, 2021 .
  22. Web site: Browns to Sign QB Jacob Dolegala per Report .
  23. Web site: Browns Won't Sign QB Jake Dolegala, G Wyatt Teller Returning from Reserve/COVID-19 List .
  24. Web site: Roughriders Sign Quarterback Jake Dolegala . February 15, 2022 . riderville.com.
  25. Web site: TSN ca Staff . 2022-07-23 . Dolegala listed as No. 1 QB on Riders' depth chart ahead of Argos game – TSN.ca . 2022-07-25 . TSN . en.
  26. Web site: 2022-07-24 Game Tracker – Toronto Argonauts vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (6237) . 2022-07-25 . CFL.ca . en.
  27. Web site: TSN ca Staff . 2022-09-26 . Riders suspend Dolegala after impaired driving arrest – TSN.ca . 2022-09-27 . TSN . en.
  28. Web site: Official 2024 Free Agent Tracker . . February 14, 2024.
  29. Web site: QB Jake Dolegala joins Lions on one-year deal . . February 14, 2024.
  30. Web site: Lions release QB's Dolegala, Armstrong . . August 14, 2024.
  31. News: Wolf, Jason . April 27, 2019 . Undrafted but undeterred, St. Francis product Jake Dolegala heads to Cincinnati Bengals . . November 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190428181953/https://buffalonews.com/2019/04/27/st-francis-product-jake-dolegala-signs-with-bengals-after-draft/ . April 28, 2019.
  32. Web site: Roughriders QB Dolegala found not guilty of driving impaired . 2023-05-24 . leaderpost . en-CA.