Ravens Hire Adrian Dixon As New Head Certified Athletic Trainer
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Following a season marred by injuries, the Baltimore Ravens have hired Adrian Dixon to serve as the team's new head certified athletic trainer, executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta announced Tuesday.
Over the last four years, the position was held by Ron Medlin, who will remain on the Ravens training staff, along with Kevin Domboski and Mike Blankenship, among others, DeCosta said.
Dixon spent the past six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, most recently serving as the team's director of physical therapy and sports rehabilitation.
"Over the course of the last month, after meeting with multiple qualified candidates, it became quite evident that Adrian possessed all the traits and skills necessary to help us become the best player wellness program in the National Football League," DeCosta said. "We were very impressed by Adrian's servant leadership, his passion for the challenge, and his vision for our training room."
The Ravens said Dixon is a credentialed clinician in both physical therapy and athletic training.
Prior to joining the Titans, he was assistant athletic trainer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014 and 2015, and previously had an internship with the Bucs, as well as the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears.
Injuries hurt the Ravens early, with running backs J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, cornerback Marcus Peters and linebacker L.J. Fort all being lost for the season before the regular season started.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley played the season opener after rehabbing an ankle injury, didn't feel right, and opted for season-ending ankle surgery for a second straight year.
Safety DeShon Elliott went down in November. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey missed the last five games after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in December. After suffering a bone bruise early in the team's Week 14 game against the Cleveland Browns, quarterback Lamar Jackson effectively missed the same amount of time.
Linebacker Tyus Bowser tore his Achilles tendon in the season finale against the Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium.
At his end-of-the-year press conference on Jan. 31, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh pledged the team would conduct a top-to-bottom of its strength and conditioning protocols, including practice schedules, training camp schedules, and other workout regimens, to mitigate catastrophic injuries.
"We've got to turn over every stone. We've got to look at every possible avenue to do the best we can to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Harbaugh said at the time he held a four-hour meeting with the training staff discuss the team's methods.
"We're going to look at everything, and we're going to change a lot," he said.