Ex-Titans tight end Frank Wycheck believes he has CTE
Former NFL tight end Frank Wycheck says he believe he has CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) after a career of repeated blows to the head.
Wycheck says he suffered at least 25 concussions before retiring at 33 after 11 seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.
"I worry about, I'm scared about the time if I actually get to that point where these guys [who have committed suicide] have snapped," Wycheck told ESPN.com. "What has made them snap? And that is what I am scared of, that there is something that is going to come over me that is going to make me snap.
Wycheck first revealed his CTE fears with Fox-WZTV in Nashville, saying that he has migraine headaches, suffers from depression and has trouble socializing with people.
“I’ll go into a room and forget why I went there," he said.
Wycheck says he plans to donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation after he dies.
"I don't want this to be a pity party, 'Oh poor Frank,'" he said. "I wouldn't change anything in the world. I've had a blessed life, great opportunities to meet great people, raise my family and be able to take care of my family the way I could. I couldn't do that without football. And it was the thing I had as a goal since I was 5 years old."
Wycheck, who threw the lateral pass during the "Music City Miracle," is third all-time in Titans franchise history with 462 receptions.
- Scooby Axson
