4 important takeaways as Carolina Panthers turn the page on Week 8 triumph

Carolina Panthers must extend Frankie Luvu

On a day that saw many Carolina Panthers legends in the house, Frankie Luvu's display was reminiscent of the glory days of Luke Kuechly and Cam Newton. This was the best performance I’ve seen from a linebacker since No. 59 was flying around the field making insane plays.   

Rightly this offseason the talk will be about the Panthers paying star edge rusher Brian Burns, but another player who should be getting a healthy contract is Luvu. Scott Fitterer has whiffed on many of his deals in the draft or free agency, but none have been better than the deal the Washington State product signed in 2021.

Against the Houston Texans - with his mother in the crowd watching him play in the NFL for the first time - the former New York Jet racked up an incredible stat line. Luvu's 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, one sack, and one quarterback hit was simply phenomenal stuff from a player who is fast becoming one of the team's most dominant.

Luvu is a free agent this offseason and re-signing the player rivals the importance of extending Burns. With stalwart Shaq Thompson missing for the remainder of the season, he is the glue and at 27 years old, has a lot of good football ahead of him.  

If what we saw on Sunday from Luvu is produced throughout the remaining games, he will command a much richer contract than the two-year, $9 million deal he signed before the 2022 season began.