Lions dismiss head trainer Dave Granito before preseason opener

The Lions fired head athletic trainer Dave Granito just before the preseason opener. Granito had been with the team since 2019.

In a surprising development, the Detroit Lions dismissed head athletic trainer Dave Granito just hours before the team’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills.

In his postgame press conference, coach Dan Campbell confirmed an earlier report from Kory Woods of Woodward Sports that the team did dump Granito. Campbell did not go into great detail on the move other than to indicate that the physical treatment of players was not the issue.

Granito had been with the Lions since 2019, when he was hired away from the University of Michigan. He was the Wolverines’ director of athletic training for two years and also had NFL experience with the Patriots and Giants prior to coming to Detroit.

A replacement head trainer has not yet been named.

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