Ex-Tennessee Titans star had CTE at time of death, researchers confirm

Former Tennessee Titans star Frank Wycheck had stage III CTE when he died at age 52 at his home in Tennessee on Dec. 9, 2023, his family said Thursday.

CTE – chronic traumatic encephalopathy – is a degenerative brain disorder that happens due to repeated head impacts, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Wycheck, an 11-year NFL veteran tight end, died after an apparent fall at his home in Chattanooga. His brain was studied by researchers at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, which confirmed he had stage III CTE, one below stage IV, the most severe diagnosis.

“We witnessed our father becoming increasingly isolated and experiencing drastic mood swings. He became more impulsive, and often inconsistent and undependable,” Wycheck’s daughter, Deanna Wycheck Szabo, said in a statement. “Now in hindsight, I understand that he was suffering from the symptoms of CTE due to the repeated trauma his brain and body endured over 11 seasons in the NFL.”

The Wycheck family issued support for continued research and education around CTE for NFL players and their families.

“Our family is grateful to learn of his confirmed CTE diagnosis in hopes to continue our father’s desire to bring awareness, increased intervention, education, and support for NFL alumni and their families related to CTE,” Wycheck Szabo said. “Our hope is that NFL alumni, who believe they are suffering from CTE, will be given the much-needed resources and guidance prior to their symptoms reaching a debilitating state. With on-going CTE research and diagnosis’, we hope future NFL alumni and families will be explicitly given an outline and plan of action in receiving care and treatment.”

Prior to his death, Wycheck was also an advocate for CTE research, even noting he believed he suffered from the disease.

“Some people have heads made of concrete, and it doesn’t really affect some of those guys,” he told researchers in 2017, per AP. “But CTE is real. I know I’m suffering through it, and it’s been a struggle and I feel for all the guys out there that are going through this.”

Wycheck was a three-time NFL Pro Bowl selection across 11 seasons for the Titans, Houston Oilers and Washington. He finished his NFL career with 505 receptions for 5,126 yards and 28 touchdowns in 155 games, including 135 starts.