Former Titans tight end Frank Wycheck certain he has CTE

Frank Wycheck is one of the many players coping with health effects in life after football.

Detailing his struggles with migraines, depression, forgetfulness, and a lack of desire to socialize, the former Tennessee Titans tight end told FOX 17 in Nashville that he's certain he has chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

"I'm sure," Wycheck explained in a recent interview. "I'm sure the punishment I took and the concussions, the dings, for sure."

An increasingly alarming number of former football players are found to have dealt with CTE, but the degenerative brain disease can still only be diagnosed posthumously.

Wycheck, who played 11 years in the NFL, detailed the stresses and fears surrounding what lies ahead.

"Junior Seau, what caused him one day to put a shot gun to his chest and pull the trigger? As former players, you're like, 'When is that going to happen to me?' Is there a special pill I can take? Do I eat carrots? What do I do to prevent perhaps what is inevitable? That's a stress that is on your mind daily," Wycheck said.

The NFL has acknowledged a link between CTE and football injuries in recent years, but that stands as a long overdue admission after the league was believed to have downplayed concussion risks for decades.

"Everyone thought we were crying about our injuries, woe is me," Wycheck said. "Why did we even play? But, the NFL knew. The main NFL doctor came out and said that there isn't any long-term brain damage when you play football, so he basically lied and hid a lot of that information. That's the price you pay and to be honest with you. I wouldn't change a thing."

Wycheck, best known for his lateral in the Music City Miracle, retired at the end of the 2003 season with 505 receptions, 5,126 yards, and 28 touchdowns.