Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu was suspended without pay for one game after repeated violations of the rule against hip-drop tackles. Luvu will appeal the ruling, a source said. If he loses, it could cost him more than half a million dollars.
The NFL ruled that Luvu violated the policy again in Sunday night's 38-14 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks while making a tackle in the first quarter on wide 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.
If the suspension holds, he would forfeit a game check worth $508,333. He also would miss Washington's home game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, but he could return the following week when the Commanders play the Miami Dolphins in Madrid.
Luvu was fined $23,186 for his Week 4 violation and another $46,372 after Week 8.
According to a news release from the NFL, Luvu was cited 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."
If Luvu doesn't play, it would be yet another blow to the Commanders, who have lost four consecutive games, including the past three by a combined 67 points.
Starting cornerback Marshon Lattimore suffered a season-ending torn ACL versus the Seahawks. Three other defensive starters also are on injured reserve: safety Will Harris and ends Deatrich Wise Jr. and Dorance Armstrong.