Frank Wycheck knew he was losing a battle with a degenerative brain disease years before the Tennessee Titans’ famed H-back died in a fall at his Chattanooga home in 2023.
As revealed in a resurfaced interview with ESPN from 2017Wycheck told reporter Paul Kuharsky he feared becoming another statistic in football’s battle against chronic traumatic encephalopathy – the condition linked to many suicides in the sport.
“I’m worried, I’m scared of the time when I actually get to the point where these guys are [who have committed suicide] are broken,” said Wycheck, who was posthumously diagnosed with CTE, his family announced this week. ‘What made her snap? And that’s what I’m afraid of, that something will come over me and I’ll snap.
“I don’t think I’ll do it, but you’d never think those guys in a million years. And that’s the scary thing about it. There is no one who can really tell you anything. It’s just that: the damage has already been done.’
His adult daughters have now announced that Wycheck did indeed suffer from the degenerative brain disease.
“After my father’s retirement from professional football, our family faced challenges in understanding the physical and mental changes he was experiencing,” Deanna Wycheck said in a statement.
The family of late Tennessee Titans player Frank Wycheck has announced that he has CTE
Wycheck helped develop the hybrid tight end role that became known as the ‘H-back’
‘We initially thought it was simply an inability to adapt to ‘normal’ life after the intensity of being a professional athlete. We watched our father become increasingly isolated and experience drastic mood swings. He became more impulsive, and often inconsistent and unreliable.
“At the time, I wrongly attributed his struggles to missing the spotlight and camaraderie of his playing days.
“But now, in retrospect, I understand that he suffered from the symptoms of CTE as a result of the repetitive trauma his brain and body suffered over 11 seasons in the NFL.”
Wycheck, a tight end who helped create a hybrid role known as an “H-back,” is best remembered for throwing the controversial sideways cross-field that scored Kevin Dyson’s game-winning touchdown against the Buffalo Bills could score, the ‘Music City Miracle’. ‘A quarter of a century ago.
He retired from the league in 2011 after recording 505 receptions, 5,126 yards and 28 touchdowns in 155 games.
But as the years passed, Wycheck and his family became aware of his debilitating condition.
‘My father put his body on the line his entire career. He loved the game and his teammates even more.
“After his retirement, he fought for years to bring light to his post-NFL journey and the fears he had surrounding his struggles and symptoms that he knew with all his heart was CTE. He often felt forgotten and ignored, and that his situation was helpless.
“Looking back, I wish our family had been educated about the signs and symptoms of CTE.
“Rather than believing there was something inherently wrong with him, we now know that he did the best he could as a father and friend under circumstances beyond his control.”
Wycheck retired from playing in the NFL after an 11-year career with the Titans in 2001
In 2017, Wycheck told ESPN he was concerned about the suicides among former players. Although he didn’t mention anyone by name, that list at that point already included Dave Duerson of the Chicago Bears and Junior Seau of the San Diego Chargers.
But despite his own concerns, Wycheck was hesitant to broach the subject with colleagues.
“People don’t want to hear about sick things like that,” he told ESPN.
Wycheck’s family wants to raise awareness about the issue after his condition became public.
“Our hope is that NFL alumni who believe they may be suffering from CTE will receive much-needed resources and guidance before their symptoms reach a debilitating state,” they said.
“With continuing CTE research and diagnosis,” we hope that future NFL alumni and families will be provided with an explicit outline and action plan for receiving care and treatment.
“That’s what our father would have wanted.”