GREEN BAY, Wis. -- For the first time since 1993, the Green Bay Packers will have a different head athletic trainer.
After 22 years with the same job title, Pepper Burress will transition from head athletic trainer to being the Packers director of sports medicine administration.
"Pepper has been a vital member of this organization since 1993 and we will continue to rely on his expertise and wisdom in his new role," general manager Ted Thompson said.
Burress has been in the NFL for 39 seasons, beginning his career with the New York Jets as an assistant athletic trainer. He was awarded in 2012 as the Physicians Society's Outstanding NFL Athletic Trainer. A year earlier, Burress and his staff were named as the best in the league.
Taking Burress' former post is Bryan Engel, who's being promoted after 16 years as Green Bay's assistant athletic trainer. Engel joined the Packers in 1999 after three years as a seasonal assistant with the New England Patriots.
"We are excited about Bryan's opportunity as he has been a great asset to the organization," Thompson said. "He has worked diligently over the years and grown into his new responsibility, in which he will oversee the Packers training staff."
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