He was picked up by the Edmonton Eskimos and played well enough in the remaining pre-season games to make the team as a backup, but by season's end he was their top passer with 2,475 yards in which he completed 177 out of 268.
Wilkinson, known affectionately as "Wilkie" by Eskimo fans had amongst his talents an uncanny knack for drawing members of the opposing line "offside" pretty much at will.
He played the balance of his career in Eskimo Green and Gold in a two-quarterback system, first with Bruce Lemmerman and then with Warren Moon.
Including his time with the Rifles, Wilkinson threw for 24,531 passing yards on 1754 completions from 2,949 attempts and with 137 interceptions to 172 touchdowns.
After retiring, Wilkinson went to work full-time as an ad salesman for Edmonton radio station, CHQT, which had employed him since his first season with the Eskimos.
He was a consultant to Eskimos head coach Jackie Parker after he replaced Pete Kettela during the 1983 season, but chose not to return the following year.