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The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed Australian Rules Football player Patrick Murtagh through the NFL’s International Pathway Program, the team announced Monday. Murtagh is a member of the IPP Class of 2024.
Murtagh spent part of the 2023 offseason with the Detroit Lions through the IPP, but had to leave the team in May with an undisclosed medical issue.
Murtagh, who stands 6’5″, and 250 pounds, is an aspiring NFL tight end who can stay with the Jaguars through training camp. If he can’t earn a spot on the 53-man roster, he can still remain with the team as a “developmental” player on the practice squad.
The 24-year-old was a national-level decathlete in Australia and a Queensland state champion in high school. He participated in a 10-week training camp at IMG Academy in Florida after going through the international scouting combine in London.
He played for the AFL’s Gold Coast Suns from 2018 to 2022 before pursuing a career in the NFL through the IPP.
Jacksonville is no stranger to the IPP, as defensive back Ayo Oyelola, who is from the United Kingdom has been with the team for the past two seasons as part of the program. Now, the Jaguars will give another international player a chance to pursue a dream of making it to the NFL.