DONE DEAL : Jacksonville Jaguars have announced the signing of another former Australian rugby potential star on their roster.

The Jaguars have recruited Patrick Murtagh, a former Australian rugby player, to their roster.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed tight end Patrick Murtagh, the organization announced today.
Here is some background on Murtagh from the team’s press release.

Murtagh, 6-6, 250 pounds, is a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program Class of 2024. In high school, he competed at the national level in decathlon and was the Queensland state champion. Murtagh was accepted into Australia’s Commonwealth program before electing to pursue a career in Australian rules football. He joined with the AFL’s Gold Coast Suns at the age of 19 and stayed with the team until September 2022, before chasing his opportunity with the NFL’s International Player Pathway program in 2023.

After a successful training camp 2023, Murtagh was assigned to the Detroit Lions for the NFL season. After spending a week in Detroit, he had to leave due to an undisclosed medical issue.
“As an IPP player, Murtagh can stay with the Jaguars through training camp,” according to Jaguars.com. “If he does not make the 53-player roster, he can be carried as an extra “developmental” player on the practice squad.”
“It’s a great feeling, getting the contract signed, and getting day one all completed now,” Murtagh said in an interview with the team via Jaguars PR. “The work’s only just started now so I’m excited to get into it.”

“A tremendous amount of work’s been put in. A lot of behind-the-scenes work as well before, trying to get into the IPP. That’s a credit to my friends, my family, the team back home, and my network that have put in the hours to get me back in shape and ready to go to the IPP.”

“Today seems like the first day of school. It was quite exciting meeting all of the coaches, staff, and players and just getting my bearings around here.”

“I love the beaches and the warm weather, so at Jacksonville, I’m happy to call this place home.”

As part of the deal, Jacksonville released defensive back Ayo Oyelola, who was signed through the International Player Pathway program on May 3rd, 2022. The London native was on the Jaguars’ practice squad and did not play in any games.