Detroit Lions bring back Kevin Bastin as Head Athletic Trainer

After moving on from Dave Granito halfway through training camp, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell has found the team’s next Head Athletic Trainer, Kevin Bastin, a face familiar to the organization.

Bastin entered the NFL as an assistant athletic trainer in 1989 with the Washington Football Team before joining the Houston Texans as their head athletic trainer in 2001. In 2014, Bastin accepted the head athletic trainer job with the Lions and remained there for five seasons before leaving for other opportunities — specifically as Director of Athletic Outreach Services at the Memorial Hermann Ironman Sports Medicine Institute.

When Bastin left the Lions, the team released a statement calling him an “invaluable asset” and cited his “unwavering commitment to the health and safety of our players” making him an “integral part of our football operation day in and day out”.

Bastin brings over 20 years of NFL training experience (over 30 years in the field) back to the Lions.

“We’re fortunate to be able to get him back,” Campbell said at his Wednesday press conference. “He is an outstanding athletic trainer, he has high values, he cares about the players, and he’ll give them everything that they need. So, we’re excited to get him back.”