Well, they tried.
Yesterday, the Carolina Panthers lost some heart and soul—as linebacker Frankie Luvu reportedly agreed to terms with the Washington Commanders. Luvu is expected to sign a three-year, $36 million pact to make the move a bit further north.
The decision, however, didn’t come without some resistance from the Panthers—who wanted to keep the versatile defender around.
As first reported by JP Finlay of NBC Sports, Carolina made a “late push” to retain Luvu on Monday. That information was backed by Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, who noted on Tuesday afternoon that the Panthers stayed in touch with Luvu’s representation throughout the process.
Panthers president of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan made that interest in Luvu quite clear at this year’s scouting combine.
“We have all intentions on re-signing Frankie,” Morgan said a few weeks ago. “We love Frankie. He embodies what a Panther is. He’s tough, he’s got that dawg mentality we talk about. Nothing’s guaranteed in this league, but we are gonna try to extend him.”
That, of course, would not be the case.
