You may know Carolina Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu as “No. 49,” “Luvuuuuuuuu,” or that missile from the middle of the defense that always seems to make plays. But to his teammates, he’s simply “Uce.”
A Samoan term of endearment, “Uce” is used to address a person one regards as a brother—from its original form, “uso.” And it’s clear, from over the past 11 months, that Luvu has more than earned that distinction—not only as a man amongst men, but as a player working towards the common goal.
On Thursday, the Panthers announced a two-year extension for the Tafuna native. Luvu returned for a deal worth $9 million—a pact that will pay out $5 million in 2022 along with a $3 million signing bonus.
This’ll, of course, be a substantial step up in take for Luvu. Last year’s contract, penned out of free agency following three seasons with the New York Jets, was worth a fourth of this new agreement in terms of annual value.
It’ll also mean a substantial step up in duties for Luvu, who was used primarily as a rotational piece on defense in 2021. His fourth professional campaign saw the undrafted Washington State Cougar chalk up 249 defensive snaps—accounting for just under 23 percent of the unit’s presence.
But while much of his impact was felt out of his role as a nationally-recognized special teamer, he did make the most out of that limited burn as a backer. Luvu, in earning the highest overall grade from Pro Football Focus for any Panthers defender (84.8), registered 11 pressures over 71 pass-rushing attempts for 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hits.
That output would also result in an 87.9 pass-rushing grade, the second-highest amongst all players classified as linebackers (not edge rushers) by PFF. And, although a mere sample size, his pressure rate of 15.5 percent bested that of some of the league’s premier outside linebackers in 2021.
The following data, with Luvu added in for context’s sake, includes all players who are widely designated as outside backers and recorded at least 10.0 sacks:
| Pressures | Attempts | Success Rate | |
| Micah Parsons | 67 | 307 | 21.8 |
| Frankie Luvu | 11 | 71 | 15.5 |
| Shaquil Barrett | 75 | 485 | 15.5 |
| T.J. Watt | 62 | 413 | 15.0 |
| Matthew Judon | 63 | 420 | 15.0 |
| Joey Bosa | 68 | 468 | 14.5 |
| Harold Landry III | 64 | 529 | 12.1 |
| Robert Quinn | 47 | 402 | 11.7 |
| Markus Golden | 44 | 386 | 11.4 |
| Haason Reddick | 44 | 438 | 10.0 |
| Chandler Jones | 47 | 480 | 9.8 |
If we want to be a bit more relative, Luvu is only one of three linebackers to have been credited with double-digits pressures while playing at least 25 percent of their snaps via pass-rushing situations. The other two are Parsons (of course) and Miami’s Sam Eguavoen.
Along with getting a ton of bang for their buck in that department, the Panthers ran Luvu through the gamut over the entire middle of their defense. Not only did he play from the outside, but the 25-year-old picked up reps as the Mike and the Will as well.
Three of his most efficient performances, in fact, came in the only three outings where he totaled at least 30 defensive snaps. He displayed his versatile skill set—specifically versus the run—amassing four stops against Minnesota in Week 6, three in Week 16 against Tampa Bay and seven in New Orleans the following Sunday.
And it’s that effective type of versatility that may come in handy for Carolina moving forward. With so many question marks surrounding their linebacking corp heading into free agency, having Luvu in the bag serves as one heck of an insurance policy.
Will Reddick, the team’s leading sack artist, get a nicer deal elsewhere? Will the team bring back Jermaine Carter Jr. after a disappointing season? And where is the depth, which has been missing since last year, going to come from?
If Reddick and/or Carter Jr., two of the unit’s starters from 2021, do go—Luvu can man the abandoned stations. That could force head coach Matt Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow to get even more creative—perhaps move Shaq Thompson or safety Jeremy Chinn to the very middle—but Luvu locking in should prove to be a wise investment.
No matter how all those problems will be resolved—the Panthers have themselves at least one promising answer: Uce.
