"On his way to a second-team All-Pro selection last season, Frankie Luvu lined up at a traditional off-ball linebacker spot on 65 percent of the Washington Commanders' defensive snaps. When he wasn't in the box, the eighth-year star was usually on the line, at an edge position outside the offensive tackle. The Commanders' defense changed in 2025. Adam Peters chose not to re-sign the club's leading pass rusher, Dante Fowler Jr., bringing free agents Jacob Martin, Von Miller, and eventually Preston Smith."
"Then, in short order, the Commanders lost their top three defensive ends - Dorance Armstrong Jr., Deatrich Wise Jr., and Javontae Jean-Baptiste - to long-term injuries. At some point, the decision was made to help fill the gaps created by all this roster turmoil by redeploying Luvu as more of an edge rusher than off-ball linebacker. That decision has been ruinous. It's difficult to know how things might have turned out if not for Washington's injury issues."
"Out of those first six games, the only one in which he took fewer than 40 snaps in the box was the Week 5 match-up against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Commanders' first game without their star defensive end came in Week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs. That game, during which Luvu played a season-low 11 snaps in the box and a season-high 48 snaps on the edge, was a trainwreck."
Frankie Luvu played primarily as an off-ball linebacker last season, lining up there on 65 percent of defensive snaps and sometimes rushing the edge. Washington declined to re-sign Dante Fowler Jr. and signed free agents including Jacob Martin and Von Miller. The Commanders then lost Dorance Armstrong Jr., Deatrich Wise Jr. and Javontae Jean-Baptiste to long-term injuries. Coaches redeployed Luvu as more of an edge rusher to cover roster gaps. Before Armstrong's season-ending injury, Luvu averaged 42 box snaps per game; after, his box snaps fell and edge snaps rose, peaking in Week 8 where he played 11 box and 48 edge snaps.
Read at Riggo's Rag
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]