Commanders player gets big win against the NFL to avoid punishment from repeated violations
The defense gets a much needed break after receiving rough news to star the week.
The Washington Commanders’ week was already off to a rough start after learning that they would be without one of their starters on defense.
Injuries have already been too much for the team to recover from, and now Luke McCaffrey and Marshon Lattimore are out for the rest of the season as well. The defense can’t afford to be without even more starters, but thankfully, they will be getting back linebacker Frankie Luvu.
After appealing his suspension, the NFL has decided to overturn its decision, and Luvu will play on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
Frankie Luvu avoids suspension
Luvu has built a brand of hip-drop tackles over the last two seasons, and he’s been fined three times over the last calendar year for them. The NFL wanted to drop the hammer and use Luvu as an example with the first-ever suspension from hip-drop tackling, but his appeal was a success after a review, and he’s playing on Sunday now, and getting fined $100,000 instead.
The tackles against the Lions in the playoffs last season, and the two against the Atlanta Falcons and the Kansas City Chiefs were very obvious violations, but the tackle against the Seattle Seahawks was a stretch, and didn’t warrant a suspension.
Instead of a one-game suspension, Luvu is getting fined for the fourth time for the violation, and the NFL will have its eyes glued to him for the rest of the season. The fact is that Luvu needs to be better about how he’s tackling and putting players’ health at risk, but the NFL also needs to be better about officiating it and calling it across the league. It’s been a rough season for Luvu, and this was the last thing he needed.
Luvu has a point to prove this season
We can all agree that Luvu has taken a step back since last season, but the defense as a whole is really bad, and he’s been moved around a lot this year. Defensive Coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said earlier in the year that teams are using linemen more on Luvu instead of running backs and tight ends to stop him from getting through the line on plays, and it has been noticeable. Luvu needs to finish strong and show that he should be part of the defense next season and beyond after the roster and possibly coaching staff undergoes serious changes this offseason.
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