Patrick Murtagh (born 11 February 2000) is an Australian professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er for the

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in the ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He joined the Jaguars through the

International Player Pathway Program International Player Pathway (IPP) is a program run by the National Football League (NFL) to increase the number of players from outside the United States or Canada in the NFL. The program was formed as part of the NFL's strategy to grow globally ...

(IPPP) in .

Early life

Murtagh was born in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

father and a mother from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. He attended

The Southport School The Southport School (TSS) is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Southport, a suburb on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. Established in 1901 by the Revd Horac ...

throughout his upbringing and was a national-level

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ� ...

as well as a

state champion. 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 career

At 18 years of age, Murtagh switched sports and began playing Australian rules football for the

Labrador Tigers Labrador Australian Football Club, also known as the Labrador Tigers, is a Gold Coast based sports club. Labrador's Australian rules football team currently competes in the Queensland Australian Football League. From 2011 to 2014 it was an inau ...

in the semi-professional

QAFL The Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL or "Q-A-F-L") is an Australian rules football competition organised by the AFL Queensland, contested by clubs from South East Queensland. Founded in 1903 it was previously known as the Queensl ...

state league and worked his way through the club ranks before making his senior debut for the Labrador in June 2019. He was also invited to take part in the

Gold Coast Suns Academy The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The ...

, which would lead to being drafted by his hometown professional

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

team the

as a Queensland Academy zone selection at the

2019 AFL Draft The 2019 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players following the completion of the 2019 AFL season. Key dates Mid-season rookie draft The first mid ...

. 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 The Southport Australian Football Club, nicknamed the Sharks, is an Australian rules football club based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, that competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Southport is one of the most successful football clu ...

. Throughout his Australian rules football career he played in the positions of

ruck Ruck may refer to: * Ruck (rugby union), a contesting for the ball in Rugby Union from a grounded player * Ruck (Australian rules football), an aerial contest in Australian-rules football between rival rucks * Ruck (rugby league), the area surro ...

, key forward and key defender. He was delisted in September 2022 without playing a top level

game.

American football career

In 2023, Murtagh joined the NFL International Player Pathway as a

Detroit Lions

On 4 May 2023, Murtagh was allocated to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, but had to step down on 22 May due to a medical issue.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Murtagh was signed as an undrafted free agent by 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 ...

on 15 April 2024. He was waived/injured on 27 August. The Jaguars announced they had waived Murtagh on May 15, 2025.

Personal life

Murtagh is the son of Michael and Vala Murtagh. He lost his father to cancer in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murtagh, Patrick 2000 births Living people Australian rules footballers from the Gold Coast, Queensland American football offensive tackles Detroit Lions players Jacksonville Jaguars players International Player Pathway participants People educated at the Southport School Australian players of American football