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Patrick Murtagh
American football player (born 2000) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Patrick Murtagh (born 11 February 2000) is an Australian professional American football tight end and a former professional Australian rules footballer for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). He joined the Jaguars through the International Player Pathway Program (IPPP) in 2024.
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Early life
Murtagh was born in Queensland to an Australian father and a mother from Papua New Guinea.[1] He attended The Southport School[2] throughout his upbringing and was a national-level decathlete as well as a Queensland state champion.[3] He was also awarded a place on Australia’s Commonwealth pathway, a program run by the Australian government designed to subsidise college tuition, before he instead decided to pursue a professional career in Australian rules football.[4][5]
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Australian rules football career
At 18 years of age, Murtagh switched sports and began playing Australian rules football for the Labrador Tigers in the semi-professional QAFL state league and worked his way through the club ranks before making his senior debut for the Labrador in June 2019.[6] He was also invited to take part in the Gold Coast Suns Academy,[7] which would lead to being drafted by his hometown professional AFL team the Gold Coast Suns as a Queensland Academy zone selection at the 2019 AFL Draft.[8]
Murtagh was placed on the Suns rookie list and played 28 games for their developmental VFL team over his three-year stint with the club, which was highlighted by a preliminary final appearance against crosstown rivals the Southport Sharks.[9][10] Throughout his Australian rules football career he played in the positions of ruck, key forward and key defender.[11] He was delisted in September 2022 without playing a top level AFL game.[1]
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American football career
In 2023, Murtagh joined the NFL International Player Pathway as a tight end.[12]
Detroit Lions
On 4 May 2023, Murtagh was allocated to the Detroit Lions, but had to step down on 22 May due to a medical issue.[13][14]
Jacksonville Jaguars
Murtagh was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars on 15 April 2024.[4] He was waived/injured on 27 August.[15]
The Jaguars announced they had waived Murtagh on May 15, 2025.[16]
Personal life
Murtagh is the son of Michael and Vala Murtagh.[17] He lost his father to cancer in 2021.[18]
References
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