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Frankie Luvu Solidifying Himself in Commanders LB Rotation
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- Frankie Luvu Solidifying Himself in Commanders LB Rotation
Frankie Luvu Solidifying Himself in Commanders LB Rotation
(© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
A lot has been made of the additions to the Washington Commanders ' linebacker room this offseason with Leo Chenal arriving in free agency then Sonny Styles in the first round of the NFL Draft. Yet one returner has drawn consistent praise through offseason workouts: Frankie Luvu Jr.
The veteran linebacker is looking to cement his role in a defense that embraced getting younger across the board, yet his experience has loomed large. Head coach Dan Quinn admitted he's hearing Luvu as one who "continues to grow" into a leadership role amid Bobby Wagner's departure, while defensive coordinator Daronte Jones admitted he "take my hat off" to Luvu and the defense.
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For a veteran now preparing for his third season in Washington, arguably no opportunity looms larger than in 2026 with Luvu now preparing for a room that will likely not return future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner, a move that was expected throughout the offseason yet was seemingly cemented when the front office turned to Chenal and Styles. With a chance to entrench himself as the veteran in the room, Luvu has shown signs of filling into that void.
"What we've seen probably is his communication and ability, play calling of things that kind of were naturally deferred to Wags," head coach Dan Quinn said of Luvu. "And so, kind of being pushed into those spaces, it's allowed for him to talk and communicate at a higher level. And he certainly answered that."
The chance to learn from Wagner through his career adds to Luvu's ceiling as part of a defense that features a deeper front seven.
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"Very aggressive, very downhill. We're disruptive," Luvu said of the new defensive scheme.
2026 will also serve as a chance to return to form. After generating 42 pressures and nine sacks to become a second team All Pro selection in 2024, Luvu was inconsistent in year two with the organization after just 25 pressures and 86 total tackles, his fewest since his first season with Carolina in 2021.
Yet while 2026 serves as a chance to become the impactful linebacker that fans first saw him as, it also serves a chance to step into the leadership role that Quinn has seen signs of. Though Daronte Jones noted the terminology will be the biggest area of growth for the bulk of the defense between now and week one, the chance for Luvu to be the one to serve as the anchor could add a new wrinkle to a room that has multiple ' green dot ' candidates. Yet it was Luvu who reportedly spotted it in week one of practice, a chance for the 29 year old to anchor what should be a versatile front seven."
"It's a lot of downhill but also giving that look where if I'm showing, I'm getting a whole slide and say Sonny [Styles] going. Or Sonny's going, I'm going or nickel going," Luvu said of Daronte Jones's style. "So it all ties in a part where we're all like a string."
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Whether it ends up being Luvu pulling the strings on the Commanders' defense on the field remains a possibility.
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