The Indianapolis Colts are trading their leading tackler, linebacker Zaire Franklin, to the Green Bay Packers on eve of 2026 NFL free agency, according to multiple reports.
The Packers will send defensive tackle Colby Wooden to the Colts to complete the player-for-player swap.
Franklin, 29, has been with the Colts since being selected in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Syracuse product spent the early portion of his career as a backup before blossoming into a full-time starter in 2022.
Franklin has recorded at least 125 tackles in four consecutive seasons. That included an NFL-high 173 in 2024, a season during which he was named to the All-Pro second team and the Pro Bowl.
That Franklin was traded isn’t a surprise. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported March 5 that the Colts were ‘speaking with teams’ about trading for the veteran linebacker as they looked to get under the salary cap for 2026.
Franklin was entering the penultimate season of a three-year, $31.3 million extension he signed with the Colts in 2024. Trading him will save the Colts just under $5.8 million in cap space while incurring a $2.5 million dead-cap penalty, per Spotrac.com.
Here’s what to know about the trade between the Colts and Packers.
Zaire Franklin trade details
Packers get:
- LB Zaire Franklin
Colts get:
- DL Colby Wooden
Franklin’s arrival in Green Bay likely signals Quay Walker – a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft – will be leaving the team in free agency. The Packers will replace Walker with Franklin, who will serve as an experienced counterpart for athletic, third-year linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
The Packers will surrender the services of Wooden – a 2023 fourth-round pick from Auburn who generated a career-best 50 tackles as a full-time starter – to acquire Franklin. Wooden played 52.4% of the team’s snaps last season, third-most among defensive linemen, so Green Bay will likely seek a replacement for him during free agency or the 2026 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, Wooden will provide the Colts with solid depth along the interior defensive line, but the team will be thin at linebacker following Franklin’s departure and the pending free agency of Germaine Pratt. Austin Ajiake is the lone remaining linebacker on the roster who played more than 100 defensive snaps last season, giving Indianapolis a big hole at the position.
