TRADE: Colts Sending LB Zaire Franklin To Packers For DT Colby Wooden

Ian Rapoport reports that the Colts are trading Pro Bowl LB Zaire Franklin to the Packers in exchange for DT Colby Wooden in a player-for-player swap.

Indianapolis is quickly trying to get cap-compliant, and Franklin was someone they were willing to part with as a result. The team recently discussed trades for Franklin and found a partner in Green Bay, clearing $7 million off the books.

Franklin, 29, is a former seventh-round pick of the Colts back in 2018. He played out the final year of his four-year $2,547,057 contract and was testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career when he returned to Indianapolis on a three-year, $12 million deal.

He was entering the final year of that contract in 2024 and was slated to make a base salary of $2.88 million when he signed a three-year, $31 million extension.

In 2025, Franklin appeared in and started all 17 games for the Colts and recorded 125 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and five pass deflections.