Will Hernandez knew of Rolando Cantú before he ever came to the Cardinals.
He knew of the man who became – however briefly – the first Mexican-born non-kicker to play in the NFL when he had an appearance in the final game of the 2005 season, an offensive lineman like Hernandez.
“He (provided) huge pride for Mexican culture,” Hernandez said.
When it comes to the Cardinals playing in Mexico, however, the two share another parallel both wish they didn’t. Hernandez, who has family living in Mexico City, won’t play in the game Monday night after hurting his pectoral muscle. Cantú didn’t play in the game either, stuck on the practice squad in 2005 when the Cardinals had other pressing roster issues.
Cantú made sure to impact the trip where he could. And Hernandez plans the same.
“The way I’m able to accept it is that I know, in my head, I can’t do anything about it,” Hernandez said. “As much as I want to play, I can’t. So what do you do from there? You can’t control the situation, so all you can do is adjust. If I can’t help my team by being on the field I can help them on the sideline, with having positive energy, by being hyped up for them, by talking to them and motivating them.”
Hernandez isn’t a Mexico native, but he spent draft week in the country in April as a Cardinals ambassador – and that was before the Mexico game was announced.
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