The Cardinals have fired longtime head athletic trainer Tom Reed, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
Reed held the position for the past 15 seasons in Arizona. He was hired in June of 2008 after nine seasons as an assistant athletic trainer with the Atlanta Falcons.
There is a belief within the building that Reed was collateral damage following the Cardinals’ poor grades on an NFLPA players survey.
The Cardinals were given an F-minus for their training room amenities, although Reed and the rest of the training staff graded out at a B-plus, which was tied for the second-best grade on the report card.
My thoughts on the Cardinals' terrible NFLPA grades, and how they reflect on Michael Bidwillhttps://t.co/LRQ67xBxu4
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) March 2, 2023
Reed worked tirelessly throughout the year, tending to Arizona’s injured players both during the season and in the offseason.
He took on the lead role during COVID, serving as the Cardinals’ Infection Control Officer.
According to an article by the team’s senior writer, Darren Urban, in February of 2021, Reed was at the team’s training facility every single day from July 11, 2019 until the end of the 2020 season.
No one might've been more important for the @AZCardinals this COVID season than head athletic trainer Tom Reed.
"At the beginning I was like, 'There is no way I'm getting through this without getting this. I am the virtual canary in the coal mine.' " https://t.co/xwNfofgLIy
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) February 22, 2021
During that time, Reed “lived on little sleep during the season, primed for the daily testing results that usually showed up between 2 and 3 a.m., knowing just one positive would set in motion a hectic checklist that had to be completed,” Urban wrote.
The Cardinals were besieged by injuries last season, and their most important player — quarterback Kyler Murray — is currently rehabilitating a torn ACL.
