Packers announce trade with Colts

The Green Bay Packers have acquired LB Zaire Franklin in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for DL Colby Wooden. Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Wednesday.

(ZI-air) Franklin (6-0, 235), a ninth-year player out of Syracuse University, was originally selected by the Colts in the seventh round (No. 235 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He played in 132 games with 82 starts for Indianapolis from 2018-25, recording 707 tackles (395 solo), 34 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 26 passes defensed, three interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Franklin also registered 31 special teams stops and a blocked punt with the Colts. The six-time team captain (2020-25) led the league with 173 tackles (93 solo) and ranked No. 2 in the NFL with a career-high five forced fumbles in 2024, earning second-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press as well as his first career Pro Bowl selection.

From 2022-25, Franklin led the NFL in tackles (643) and ranked No. 2 in solo tackles (364). Dating back to 2000 (per TruMedia), he is the only NFL player to register 600-plus tackles (643), 10-plus sacks (10) and 10-plus forced fumbles (11) over a four-season span (2022-25). Franklin finished in the top five in the NFL in tackles in three straight seasons (No. 4 in 2022, No. 2 in 2023, No. 1 in 2024), the only player in the league to accomplish that feat over that span. He posted 10-plus tackles in 34 games from 2022-25, the most in the NFL over that span and the most in Colts history. Franklin has missed just one game due to injury in his career and ranks No. 1 among NFL linebackers in games played (132) since 2018. He will wear No. 44 for the Packers.

Wooden, who was selected by the Packers in the fourth round (No. 116 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft, played in 47 regular-season games with 17 starts for Green Bay in three seasons (2023-25), recording 87 tackles (45 solo), nine tackles for a loss, a half-sack, seven QB hits and three passes defensed. He also appeared in four postseason contests with one start for the Packers.