The Carolina Panthers currently have linebacker Frankie Luvu on the tail end of a two-year, $9 million pact—and head coach Frank Reich doesn’t know how they did it.
Reich was asked about the rising 26-year-old defender following Tuesday’s outing of training camp. With a smile, he replied with the following:
“He’s a unique guy. Frankie’s so unique. That guy—he has so much energy, such a good player, so versatile. I was talkin’ to Scott [Fitterer] the other day and I said, ‘How did we end up with this guy?’ Man, this was like the steal of the century gettin’ Frankie on this team.
“Love his leadership, love his plays, consistency, his aggressiveness. Yeah, we’re in a good place with Frankie.”
Frankie was in a good place this past season. The former undrafted free agent posted career-highs across the board in 2022—recording 14 starts, 111 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, 7.0 sacks and four passes defensed.
With the Panthers transitioning to a 3-4 base under new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Luvu may even exceed those numbers. And whether he’s doing it as an inside linebacker or an outside one, Reich seems awfully glad to have him anywhere (and perhaps everywhere) on the field.
