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Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu won't be suspended for repeated violations of the rule against hip-drop tackles, the NFL announced Tuesday night. Luvu had appealed a ruling that he would be suspended one game, costing him a game check worth $508,333. Derrick Brooks, jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFLPA, heard the appeal. But Luvu was fined $100,000. Luvu will play vs. Detroit Sunday. The Commanders (3-6) have lost four consecutive games. The NFL ruled that Luvu violated the policy again in Sunday night's 38-14 loss to Seattle while making a tackle in the first quarter vs. receiver Jackson Smith-Njigba. It was Luvu's third time being fined for a hip-drop tackle, leading him to become the first player suspended under this rule. He was fined for violating the policy after Weeks 4 and 8. Luvu was fined $23,186 for his Week 4 violation and another $46,372 after Week 8. According to a press release from the NFL cited Luvu for violating a rule intended to "protect the health and safety of players." The rule states that it's a violation if a player uses a technique to tackle a player in which he "grabs the runner with one or both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and unweights himself by swiveling or dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and/or trapping the runner's leg(s) at or below the knee." Washington's defense could ill afford more losses, even if for just one game.
