A familiar face is rejoining the New England Patriots’ quarterback room.
The Patriots on Wednesday claimed QB Jake Dolegala off waivers from the Green Bay Packers, according to a report from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Dolegala spent much of last season on the Patriots’ practice squad and signed a future contract with the team in January. New England released the 6-foot-7 signal-caller after selecting Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Bringing back Dolegala ups the number of quarterbacks on the Patriots’ roster to five — and sparks questions about whether an additional move involving Jarrett Stidham might be forthcoming. Stidham currently is on the active/physically unable to perform list with an undisclosed injury and was not spotted Wednesday at the first practice of Patriots training camp.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported Stidham, who was a full participant in mandatory minicamp last month, “isn’t expected back in the near future.”
Stidham is “more than a week away from being activated off the PUP list,” according to a report from the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.
Third-stringer Brian Hoyer saw a significant uptick in scout-team reps in Stidham’s absence, completing 8 of 17 passes in 11-on-11 drills. Starting QB hopefuls Cam Newton and Jones went 5-for-11 and 8-for-15, respectively, in full-team drills.
Dolegala played his college ball in New England at Central Connecticut State. He initially signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted rookie in 2019 and has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
The Packers waived Dolegala and veteran Blake Bortles on Tuesday after Aaron Rodgers reported to training camp.
