The Washington Commanders took a defensive-minded approach when they hired head coach Dan Quinn after three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.
In turn, Quinn may have brought over some of the magic that helped him develop Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons into arguably the best defensive player in the NFL and a three-time NFL All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler through his first three seasons.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer saw some of what Quinn did with Parson in a recent visit to Commanders training camp.
“The defensive acquisition that’s stood out is, for sure, Frankie Luvu,” Breer wrote. “He’s not Micah Parsons, but Quinn signed him with the idea that he could be a movable piece in the front seven the way Parsons was for him in Dallas, and Luvu looks capable as a player who’s quick, explosive, and clearly at his best moving toward the line of scrimmage. Jeremy Chinn is another addition that gives Quinn some flexibility in how he lines guys up, and moves them around on that side of the ball.”
Luvu signed a 3-year, $36 million free-agent contract with the Commanders after averaging 118 tackles over the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers.
Luvu is Grass-Roots NFL Success Story
Luvu made the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State in 2018. Luvu stayed on the Jets’ roster for three seasons as a special teams standout and only made four starts at linebacker.
Luvu signed a 1-year, $1.1 million free-agent contract with the Panthers in 2021 and played his way into a 2-year, $9 million contract extension before the 2022 season. Over the last two years, he’s proven he can be an elite NFL linebacker. He started 14 games and had 111 tackles, 7.0 sacks and 1 interception returned for a touchdown in 2022 and followed that up with 125 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 5 pass deflections in 2023.
The Athletic’s Ben Standig projects Luvu as the “Non-QB MVP” for the Commanders in 2024.
“Luvu, one of the Commanders’ primary free-agent signings this offseason, arrived with the versatility required to play multiple spots,” Standig wrote. “At 27, Luvu is an ascending talent coming off back-to-back 100-tackle seasons with (12.5) combined sacks. He will play every down, and the defensive personnel will shift depending on where the coaches deploy this aggressive playmaker.”
Luvu, like the Commanders’ franchise as a whole, is trying to become a winner. Through Luvu’s first six NFL seasons, he’s played on teams that are a combined 27-72 and he has never played on a team with a winning record.
Luvu Gets to Play Next to Future Hall of Famer
Aside from getting super-duper paid with the Commanders, Luvu gets to play next to one of the NFL’s most respected linebackers of all time in Bobby Wagner, who the Commanders signed to a 1-year, $8.5 million contract in the offseason.
Wagner is a former Super Bowl champion, 10-time NFL All-Pro and 9-time Pro Bowler who has had over 100 tackles in each of his 12 NFL seasons and has led the NFL in tackles three times, including with 183 tackles on the Seattle Seahawks in 2023 — the career of a future Pro Football Hall of Famer if the world is fair.
Wagner can also teach Luvu and the rest of the Commanders a thing or two about winning. He’s only played on teams with losing records twice in his career and made the playoffs eight times, with 16 career playoff starts.
