Frank Wycheck, late Titans star tight finish, identified with CTE

Former Tennessee Titans star tight finish Frank Wycheck suffered from persistent traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the degenerative mind illness linked to repeated blows to the top, on the time of his loss of life simply over a 12 months in the past.

Wycheck’s household confirmed the CTE analysis in a press release launched Thursday, 13 months after the three-time Professional Bowler died from an obvious fall inside his residence.

A examine of Wycheck’s mind carried out at Boston College’s Power Traumatic Encephalopathy Middle concluded that Wycheck had CTE Stage III, based on his household. Stage IV is essentially the most extreme analysis.

“Our household is grateful to be taught of his confirmed CTE analysis in hopes to proceed our father’s want to carry consciousness, elevated intervention, schooling, and assist for NFL alumni and their households associated to CTE,” Wycheck’s daughter, Deanna Wycheck Szabo, mentioned in a press release. “Our hope is that NFL alumni, who consider they’re affected by CTE, will probably be given the much-needed assets and steerage previous to their signs reaching a debilitating state. With on-going CTE analysis and analysis’, we hope future NFL alumni and households will probably be explicitly given a top level view and plan of motion in receiving care and therapy.”

Wycheck was discovered useless at his Chattanooga, Tennessee, residence on Dec. 9, 2023. He was 52.

The household’s announcement got here at some point after the twenty fifth anniversary of the “Music Metropolis Miracle,” a play co-authored by Wycheck that stands as one of the well-known moments in NFL historical past.

On the finish of the Titans’ wild-card playoff sport towards the Buffalo Payments on Jan. 8, 2000, with Tennessee trailing 16-15 with 16 seconds remaining, Wycheck fielded a kickoff return on what promised to be the sport’s ultimate collection. Wycheck began to return the kickoff earlier than throwing a lateral throughout the sphere to Kevin Dyson, who ran 75 yards to attain the profitable landing within the Titans’ 22-16 victory.

Wycheck performed 9 of his 11 NFL seasons with the Titans/Oilers franchise and completed third in crew historical past with 482 profession receptions. He was added to the Titans’ Ring of Honor in 2008, 5 years after retiring from the NFL. Wycheck additionally performed two seasons with Washington.

Wycheck began working as a colour commentator on the Titans Radio Community in 2005. The Titans introduced earlier than the 2017 preseason that he was stepping down from the position due to lingering head points.

“My father put his physique on the road all through his profession,” Wycheck Szabo mentioned. “He liked the sport and much more so liked his teammates. After retirement, he fought for years to carry mild to his post-NFL journey and the fears he had round his struggles and signs that he knew whole-heartedly was CTE. He typically felt forgotten and ignored, and that his scenario was helpless.

“Reflecting again, I want our household had been educated on the indicators and signs of CTE. As a substitute of believing that one thing was inherently fallacious with him, we now know he was doing the most effective he may as a father and good friend beneath circumstances past his management.”