Frank Wycheck knew he was losing a battle against a degenerative brain disease years before the famed Tennessee Titans H-back died in a fall at his Chattanooga home in 2023.
As revealed in a resurfaced interview with 2017 ESPNWycheck told journalist Paul Kuharsky that he was afraid of becoming another statistic in football’s fight against chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the disease linked to many suicides within the sport.
“I’m worried, I’m afraid that there will come a time when it gets to that point where these guys (who have committed suicide) have broken down,” said Wycheck, who was posthumously diagnosed with CTE, his family revealed this week. ‘What made them explode? And that’s what I’m afraid of, that something will come over me and make me explode.
“I don’t think he’s going to do it, but those guys you’d never think would do it in a million years.” And that’s the scary part. There is no one who can really tell you anything. The damage has already been done.
His adult daughters have now announced that Wycheck did, in fact, suffer from a degenerative brain disease.
“After my father’s retirement from professional football, our family faced challenges understanding the physical and mental changes he was experiencing,” Deanna Wycheck said in a statement.
Family of late Tennessee Titans player Frank Wycheck announced he had CTE
Wycheck helped develop the hybrid tight end role that became known as the ‘H-back.’
‘Initially we believed it was simply an inability to adapt to ‘normal’ life after the intensity of being a professional athlete. We witnessed our father becoming more isolated and experiencing drastic mood swings. He became more impulsive and often inconsistent and unreliable.
“At the time, I wrongly attributed his struggles to a lack of attention and camaraderie from his playing days.
“But now, in retrospect, I understand that he was suffering from CTE symptoms due to the repeated trauma his brain and body endured 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 lateral cross that allowed Kevin Dyson to score the winning touchdown against the Buffalo Bills, the ‘Music City Miracle ‘. ‘A quarter of a century ago.
He retired from the league in 2011, having recorded 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 risked his body throughout his career. He loved the game and he loved his teammates even more.
‘After retiring, he struggled for years to clarify his post-NFL journey and the fears he had surrounding his struggles and symptoms that he knew wholeheartedly were CTE. He often felt forgotten and ignored, and that his situation was hopeless.
‘In hindsight, I wish our family had been informed about the signs and symptoms of CTE.
“Instead of believing that something was inherently wrong with him, we now know that he was doing the best he could as a father and friend in circumstances beyond his control.”
Wycheck retired from the NFL after an 11-year career with the Titans in 2001.
In 2017, Wycheck told ESPN that he was concerned about suicides among former players. Although he didn’t specify anyone by name, that list already included Dave Duerson of the Chicago Bears and Junior Seau of the San Diego Chargers at the time.
But despite his own concerns, Wycheck was reluctant to broach the topic with his peers.
“People don’t want to hear about morbid things like that,” he told ESPN.
Wycheck’s family aims to raise awareness about the issue after making his condition public.
“Our hope is that NFL alumni who believe they suffer from CTE will receive much-needed resources and guidance before their symptoms reach a debilitating state,” they said.
“With the investigation and diagnosis of CTE ongoing,” we hope that future NFL alumni and their families will explicitly receive an outline and action plan for receiving care and treatment.
“That’s what our father would have wanted.”