Arizona Cardinals sign AFL’s Joel Wilkinson

Could the Arizona Cardinals find international player success?

There are many different kinds of “football” throughout the world and the Arizona Cardinal’s executive team is looking at all of them to find the next diamond in the rough. The Cardinals have signed Joel Wilkinson from the Australian Rules Football League to the roster as the team enters the offseason.

Projecting as a cornerback for the NFL, its a bit hard to translate how stats translate from Aussie Rules to the NFL, but Wilkinson is just over six foot tall and weighs about 180 lbs. The perfect size for a young, fast cornerback in the NFL where smaller sized backs are usually paired against taller receivers.

Wilkinson is best known for being racially targeted in several games since his debut in 2011.

Last season the San Francisco 49ers signed Jarryd Hayne last season a rugby players. Hayne got limited usage by the 49ers as a running back with 17 attempts for 52 yards total and six receptions. Not really the gem that the team was searching for but the offense for most of the season was a hot mess in the Cardinals’ division rival.

Time will only tell if the team will find international success with not only Wilkinson, but other potential players from different leagues. Previously the NFL was known to look at Canadian Football League players. Other leagues like the NFL and NHL have had great success with non-American players.