Jake Dolegala

Jake Dolegala (born October 7, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 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, BC Lions, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals After going undrafted in the 2019 NFL draft, Dolegala signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. 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.

New England Patriots (first stint) On September 16, 2020, Dolegala was signed to the practice squad of the New England Patriots. 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.

Green Bay Packers (first stint) On June 10, 2021, Dolegala signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers. 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 Miami Dolphins practice squad. He was released on November 17.

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

Saskatchewan Roughriders On February 15, 2022, Dolegala signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. 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. 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 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 BC Lions. 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.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers On September 16, 2024, it was announced that Dolegala had signed a practice roster agreement with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He dressed for five regular season games and two post-season games, including the Blue Bombers' loss to the Toronto Argonauts in the 111th Grey Cup game. He was released on May 2, 2025.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats Dolegala signed a practice roster agreement with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 8, 2025. Following an injury to short-yardage specialist, Ante Milanovic-Litre, Dolegala was promoted to the active roster for the July 20 game against the Ottawa Redblacks. He played in the last 13 regular season games of the 2025 season, operating the short-yardage team, where he had 22 carries for 50 yards and one touchdown.

To start the 2026 season, Dolegala was the third-string quarterback while also continuing to operate the short-yardage team. However, after incumbent starter, Bo Levi Mitchell, was injured in week 5 and Tre Ford was ineffective in relief, Dolegala was named the starter for the week 6 game against the Roughriders.

Career statistics CFL

College Season Team Games Passing Rushing 2014 Milford 11 11 8−3 143 286 50.0 2,276 7.9 20 7 135.0 23 –94 –4.1 0 2015 Central Connecticut 11 2 1–1 87 161 54.0 1,021 6.3 4 7 106.8 54 –28 –0.5 3 2016 Central Connecticut 11 11 2–9 258 432 59.7 2,934 6.8 15 9 124.1 64 −6 −0.1 5 2017 Central Connecticut 11 11 8–3 145 274 52.9 1,953 52.9 13 7 123.3 52 212 4.1 4 2018 Central Connecticut 11 11 6–5 164 269 61.0 2,221 8.3 16 6 145.5 63 274 4.3 6 FCS career 44 35 17–18 654 1,136 57.6 8,129 7.2 48 29 126.5 233 452 1.9 18

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.

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."