Jake Dolegala (born October 7, 1996) 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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

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(CFL). He played

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at Central Connecticut, and signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2019. He has also been a member of 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 ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

College career

Coming out of high school, Dolegala only had one college offer. This led him to attend Milford Academy for their 2014 season, where he threw for 2,276 yards and 20 touchdowns. 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. Dolegala was a four-year starter for the

Central Connecticut Blue Devils The Central Connecticut Blue Devils are composed of 16 teams representing Central Connecticut State University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and track and field. Men's sports incl ...

, where he threw for 8,129 yards and 48 touchdowns.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

After going undrafted in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

, Dolegala signed with the

. He spent the entire

2019 NFL season The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears. T ...

on the Bengals' 53-man roster, but did not appear in a game for the Bengals. After the Bengals drafted

Joe Burrow Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, O ...

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.

New England Patriots (first stint)

On September 16, 2020, Dolegala was signed to the practice squad of the

. He was released by the Patriots on November 12. Dolegala was re-signed to the practice squad on November 16. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. On April 30, 2021, Dolegala was waived by the Patriots after they drafted

Mac Jones Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones (born September 5, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). Jones played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he set t ...

Green Bay Packers (first stint)

On June 10, 2021, Dolegala signed a contract with the

. He was released on July 27, 2021.

New England Patriots (second stint)

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

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

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

Miami Dolphins

On October 27, 2021, Dolegala was signed to the

practice squad. He was released on November 17. On December 17, 2021, it was reported that Dolegala would sign with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. The deal ended up not coming to fruition after the Browns signed

Kyle Lauletta Kyle James Lauletta (born March 17, 1995) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Richmond Spiders and was selected by the New York Gian ...

off of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

' practice squad.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On February 15, 2022, Dolegala signed with the

of the

. With starting quarterback

Cody Fajardo Cody Michael Fajardo (born March 29, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Early life Fajardo was born in Brea, California. He played high school football for Servit ...

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 The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. 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. Dolegala was suspended for one game by the team in late September 2022 after he was arrested for impaired driving. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.

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

. 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 Vernon Anthony Adams Jr. (born January 3, 1993) is an American professional Canadian football, football quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles fo ...

. Following the signing of

Nathan Rourke Nathan Rourke (born May 24, 1998) is a Canadian professional football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Rourke played college football for the Ohio Bobcats. Nicknamed "Kid Canada," Rourke set the single-season ...

, Dolegala was released on August 14, 2024.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On September 16, 2024, it was announced that Dolegala had signed a practice roster agreement with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. He dressed for five regular season games and two post-season games, including the Blue Bombers' loss to the

in the

111th Grey Cup The 111th Grey Cup was played to decide the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2024 CFL season, 2024 season. The game was played on November 17, 2024, at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Toronto Argonauts defea ...

game. He was released on May 2, 2025.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Dolegala signed a practice roster agreement with the

on June 8, 2025.

Professional statistics

Personal life

Dolegala's grandfather Al Bemiller was a member of the

1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team The 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York during the 1959 college football season. Led by eleventh-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, the independent Orangemen were undefeated and won the ...

that won a national title; Al later played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

from 1961 to 1969. 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."

References

External links

Hamilton Tiger-Cats bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolegala, Jake 1996 births Living people American football quarterbacks BC Lions players Central Connecticut Blue Devils football players Cincinnati Bengals players Green Bay Packers players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players Sportspeople from Hamburg, New York Players of American football from Erie County, New York Saskatchewan Roughriders players Canadian football quarterbacks Players of Canadian football from New York (state) Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players