Frankie Luvu was one of the Commanders' most reliable defensive playmakers in 2024 - a second-team All-Pro who thrived as a downhill force from the off-ball linebacker spot. But in 2025, Washington’s defensive identity shifted, and so did Luvu’s role. Unfortunately for both player and team, the results haven’t been pretty.
Let’s rewind for a moment. Last season, Luvu lined up as a traditional off-ball linebacker on 65% of Washington’s defensive snaps.
That’s where he did his best work - reading plays, flowing to the ball, and delivering punishing hits. When he wasn’t in the box, he’d occasionally slide up to the line as an edge rusher, but that was the exception, not the rule.
Then came a whirlwind offseason. New general manager Adam Peters opted not to bring back the team’s leading pass rusher, Dante Fowler Jr., instead signing veterans Jacob Martin, Von Miller, and later Preston Smith to fill the void.
On paper, it looked like a patchwork solution with upside. But the real trouble started when the injury bug bit - hard.
By midseason, Washington had lost its top three defensive ends - Dorance Armstrong Jr., Deatrich Wise Jr., and Javontae Jean-Baptiste - all to long-term injuries. That’s when the coaching staff, led by Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., made a pivotal decision: shift Luvu into more of a full-time edge rusher role.
And that’s where things started to unravel.
Before Armstrong went down in Week 7, Luvu was averaging 42 snaps per game in the box. He was still being used primarily as a linebacker.
But once the injuries piled up, his deployment changed dramatically. In Week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs - the first game without Armstrong - Luvu logged a season-low 11 snaps in the box and a season-high 48 on the edge.
The result? A defensive meltdown.
Washington gave up 432 yards and lost 28-7 to Patrick Mahomes and company. And while the Chiefs helped keep things from getting even worse with nine penalties and two turnovers, the Commanders’ defense looked out of sync - and Luvu, in particular, struggled.
That game was one of Luvu’s worst of the year. He finished with just two tackles and allowed a big gain the one time he was targeted in coverage. Pro Football Focus graded him below 50 in that outing - one of four such games this season.
To their credit, Quinn and Whitt didn’t completely double down on the edge experiment. In the weeks that followed, they tried to strike a better balance between Luvu’s snaps at linebacker and on the edge.
But the damage was done. He spent far more time rushing off the edge than he did in 2024, and his performance took a clear hit.
Last season, Luvu was a menace as a traditional linebacker. He paired well with Bobby Wagner, diagnosing plays quickly and flying downhill to stuff runs or disrupt screens.
When he blitzed, it was with purpose - and it often worked because it wasn’t predictable. He tallied eight sacks, made plays behind the line of scrimmage, and kept offenses guessing.
This year? He’s looked out of rhythm.
The instincts that made him so dangerous in 2024 haven’t translated to the edge. He’s over-pursuing, running himself out of plays, and not finishing when he gets to the ball.
His sack total has dropped from eight to three, and his pressures and tackles for loss have dipped as well.
But the most glaring issue has been his tackling. In 2024, he posted a missed tackle rate of just 5.7% - an elite number for a linebacker.
This year, that number has ballooned to 15.2%, which ranks ninth-worst among all starting linebackers. That’s not just a drop-off - that’s a red flag.
Luvu was one of Peters’ first free-agent signings when he took over the front office in early 2024. He was part of a trio of core veterans - along with Armstrong and center Tyler Biadasz - given three-year deals worth around $10 million per season to help stabilize the roster.
Armstrong has been sidelined by injury, and Biadasz has had an up-and-down campaign. But Luvu’s struggles have been particularly frustrating because they stem from a role change that simply hasn’t worked.
The Commanders’ defense has been in flux all season, and some of that was unavoidable given the injuries. But one of the top priorities for next year’s defensive staff - whoever that ends up being - will be figuring out how to get Luvu back to the player he was in 2024.
Step one? Get him out of the edge rotation and back into the heart of the defense, where he can read, react, and attack the way he does best. Because when Frankie Luvu is playing fast and free from the box, he’s not just a good linebacker - he’s a game-changer.