Getty Images Quarterback Jake Dolegala.
The Cleveland Browns were ready to bring in quarterback Jake Dolegala but will no longer need his services, according to a new report.
Dolegala was set to serve as the Browns emergency quarterback, behind Nick Mullens and Kyle Lauletta, who was also signed this week. The team informed Dolegala his services wouldn’t be needed, per Brad Stainbrook of the Orange and Browns Report.
“The Browns have notified free agent QB Jake Dolegala they will not be signing him at this time,” Stainbrook tweeted. “Dolegala has spent the past 48 hours in Cleveland waiting to see if the team would need him.”
Source: #Browns have notified free agent QB Jake Dolegala they will not be signing him at this time. Dolegala has spent the past 48 hours in Cleveland waiting to see if the team would need him.
The move could mean the Browns are comfortable both Mullens and Lauletta will be ready to go for game day, with the team confident neither would be a late scratch with the NFL’s new COVID-19 protocols in place. However, it could also mean that the Browns expect to get either Case Keenum or Baker Mayfield back. Mayfield landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier in the week, along with a swarm of other Browns players. Keenum was placed on the list later in the week after practicing with the team.
The NFL has given the Browns and Raiders until 2 p.m. on Monday to activate players off COVID-19 reserve and make other roster moves, per cleveland.com. That’s key for the Browns as they look to get some reinforcements prior to their crucial AFC matchup with Las Vegas.
Nick Mullens to Start for Browns
If nothing changes, the Browns are anticipating that Mullens will make his first start with the team this week. The former 49ers starter is ready to roll and has confidence in his game.
“Just take one thing at a time. Whatever happens, just roll with it, and accept that we are all here to do a job,” Mullens said on Saturday, December 18. “We are here to try and be the best football players we can to help the team. We have a job to do, and that is really what we have been focused on all week.”
Mullens is in his fourth NFL season out of Southern Mississippi. Originally signed by San Francisco as an undrafted free agent in 2017, Mullens has appeared in 19 career games with 16 starts, completing 387 passes for 4,714 yards with 25 touchdowns. He has spent the 2021 season on the Browns’ practice squad and was active but did not play in the team’s Week 7 game.
Browns Get Standout Guard Wyatt Teller Back
While most of the news has been rough this week for the Browns, some positive trends have started to emerge in the latter half of the week following the postponement. The latest big of good news saw the Browns getting back Wyatt Teller, who will help shore up the offensive line, which was missing multiple starters, including both tackles.
Starting middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. and defensive end Takk McKinley were two other players the Browns were able to get back this week from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
“Obviously, I am not a doctor. If everyone had the answers to it, I am pretty sure we would have an answer for it right now. Right now, I think the league is just doing what obviously they feel is safe,” Walker said. “For us, we just comply, and we see where we go from there. COVID is the real thing at the end of the day. That is what we have to take that as. It is not going anywhere any time soon.”
Is more good news on the way for the Browns? We’ll see.