The Detroit Lions this week will face a Washington Commanders team that is reeling, having lost quarterback Jayden Daniels to a serious elbow injury and now will lose one of their top defenders as well.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday that the NFL suspended linebacker Frankie Luvu after his third instance of a banned tackle.
“Commanders LB Frankie Luvu has been suspended without pay for one game for repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players, including during Sundayâs game against the Seattle Seahawks,” Schefter wrote. “This is Luvuâs third hip-drop tackle of the season. He was previously fined for actions in Week 4 and Week 8.”
The suspension is a major hit to the Commanders — and will give the Lions a chance to rebound from a stinging loss to a division rival on Sunday.
Commanders Forced to Miss Key Player Against Lions
Luvu’s suspension will hurt the Commanders, taking away one of their most steady defensive players. The 29-year-old Luvu started all nine games for the Commanders this season, making 50 total tackles with 2.0 sacks, two passes defensed, and a forced fumble.
Luvu is coming off a season where he earned second-team All-Pro honors, making 99 tackles with 8.0 sacks.
The NFL released a statement explaining that Luvu performed an illegal hip-drop tackle, which has come under increased scrutiny due to its heightened risk of injury for ballcarriers.
“During the first quarter of the Seattle-Washington game, Luvu violated Rule 12, Section 2, Article 18 (a)(b), which states that: ‘It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground: (a) grabs the runner with one or both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and (b) unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and/or trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee,” the league statement read, via NFL.com.
More Bad News for the Commanders
Sunday was a devastating night for the Commanders, who not only suffered a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks but also lost several key players. Daniels suffered a gruesome dislocated elbow, which is expected to keep him out for several weeks, if not more.
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore also suffered a torn ACL in the game, while wide receiver Luke McCaffrey broke his collarbone.
The Lions are also coming off a difficut game, struggling in all three phases against the Minnesota Vikings. Head Dan Campbell put his team on notice after the 27-24 loss, saying he failed to have his team prepared coming out of the bye week.
âThey executed and made the plays they needed to, and itâs credit to that, too,â Campbell said. âAs far as us, we did everything we needed to do to lose that game. We made every critical area you needed to at the right time to lose it. Perfect storm. When you donât play well in all three phases, that falls on the head because thatâs me. I did not have them ready coming out of a bye.â
The Lions lost out on a chance to jump to the top of the NFC North, but could have an opportunity to bounce back against the shorthanded Commanders, who are expected to start Marcus Mariota at quarterback.
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