The changes to the Washington organization in 2020 include the addition of a new medical consultant to the team’s training staff.
Washington announced that Dr. Kevin Wilk will join the organization in that role. Wilk is the associate clinical director for Champion Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Ala. and the director of rehabilitative research at the American Sports Medicine Institute. Per the team’s release, he’s also worked with and/or performed rehabilitation on Michael Jordan, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Bo Jackson and other athletes.
Wilk’s hiring comes after the team hired Ryan Vermillion away from the Panthers to be their head athletic trainer.
“I’ve known Kevin Wilk for more than 30 years and his work speaks for itself,” Vermillion said in a statement. “He will be an invaluable part of our operation, providing our staff consultation on athletic performance and rehabilitation. Our goal is to be the best athletic training staff in professional sports and Kevin will help us achieve that goal.”
Players have been critical of Washington’s medical and training staff in the past, including the dispute over the handling of a growth on left tackle Trent Williams’ head that helped lead to Williams sitting out the 2018 season. Adding Vermillion and Wilk appear to be attempts to address those concerns heading into Ron Rivera’s first season as the team’s head coach.