The Colts’ 2018 draft class resided as one of this era’s best hauls before Zaire Franklin‘s early-2020s emergence. Indianapolis’ second Chris Ballard draft included Quenton Nelson, Braden Smith, Shaquille Leonard, Nyheim Miller-Hines and Tyquan Lewis. Franklin moving to the All-Pro tier from Round 7 provided a bonus.
Indianapolis bid farewell to a few members of its long-held core this offseason. Beyond the Michael Pittman Jr. trade, the Colts parted with two members of their ’18 class — Smith and Franklin — and they have not re-signed Lewis. It took Franklin a few years to transition from special-teamer to every-down linebacker, but his new team’s front office boss was a fan during that stage of his career.
Brian Gutekunst said (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) he attempted to trade for Franklin before he became a starter. Franklin did not become a regular starter until his 2021 contract year. He heads to Green Bay, being acquired for defensive tackle Colby Wooden, with 82 career starts and a second-team All-Pro selection (in 2024) on his resume. Like the Steelers, the Packers caught a Colts team looking to shed salary to afford new deals for Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce.
“He was a really good special teams player,” Gutekunst said. “We kind of tried to acquire him then, so (he’s) been a really good player for a long time. Obviously, a very good leader as well, captain there, so I think as we kind of went down and we realized it was gonna be really tough to get Quay (Walker) back, I wanted to make sure we had an answer at middle linebacker, particularly one that might have some veteran presence, and I think we were excited to accomplish that.”
Making Franklin sound like an indie band that later hit big, Gutekunst alluding to a past attempt to acquire the special-teamer version of him certainly points to the Packers potentially eyeing the Syracuse product (drafted 235th overall) as a UDFA in 2018 — Gutekunst’s first draft as a GM. With Ballard holding firm on Franklin and allowing him to blossom, the Packers drafted Walker in the 2022 first round. Gutekunst said multiple times last year he was interested in a Walker extension, and the sides discussed a deal both last summer and earlier this year. But the four-year starter defected in free agency, joining the Raiders. A lofty fifth-year option number ($14.75MM) helped lead Walker out of Wisconsin.
The linebacker fifth-year option figure has been an issue for several teams this decade. No team has picked up an off-ball linebacker’s fifth-year option since the Buccaneers exercised Devin White‘s in 2022. The Packers and Jaguars were the latest teams to lose first-round ILBs in free agency after declining options; Devin Lloyd joined the Panthers a day after Walker’s Raiders pledge. Walker signed a three-year, $40.5MM deal with Las Vegas; that pact includes $28MM guaranteed at signing.
Upon acquiring Franklin, Green Bay adjusted his contract. Franklin, who signed a Colts extension in 2024, is now on a two-year, $18MM deal. That contract only includes $3.75MM at signing. Franklin agreed to this to facilitate a swap. He had been tied to a three-year, $31.26MM accord. The only guarantees present in the deal come via a signing bonus, but as a vested veteran, Franklin will see his 2026 base salary ($4.24MM) lock in shortly before Week 1.
Franklin did not fit Lou Anarumo‘s defensive system as well as he did Gus Bradley‘s, with Pro Football Focus ranking the prolific tackler as the NFL’s second-worst full-time ILB last year. Then again, PFF has never been too high on Franklin, who graded outside the top 10 even as he was among the league’s top tacklers. Franklin posted at least 167 stops each year from 2022-24. The Packers will hope Franklin still has this gear, as they will replace Walker with a player nearly four years older (30 in July).
The Pack have committed more resources to the linebacker position in recent years than they did during Gutekunst’s early GM days and during the final offseasons under Ted Thompson. They have now used three first- or second-round picks on the position (Walker, Edgerrin Cooper, Ty’Ron Hopper) and re-signed De’Vondre Campbell (five years, $50MM). Both the Campbell deal and this Franklin rework carried team-friendly structures, however, and Green Bay will have a longtime Gutekunst favorite teaming with Cooper’s rookie contract in 2026.