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Packers trade for LB Zaire Franklin, send DL Colby Wooden to Colts
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- Packers trade for LB Zaire Franklin, send DL Colby Wooden to Colts
In a rare player for player trade, the Green Bay Packers agreed to acquire veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for defensive lineman Colby Wooden , per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media .
The trade can't be finalized until the start of the new league year next week. The move gives the Packers needed depth and experience at linebacker and strongly suggests that linebacker Quay Walker will depart Green Bay in free agency next week.
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Franklin turns 30 in July and has two years left on his current contract.
A seventh-round pick of the Colts in the 2018 draft, Franklin has four straight seasons with at least 100 tackles. He was a Pro Bowler in 2024 after leading the league in total tackles. Franklin has played in 132 career games with 82 starts while appearing on the field for almost 5,000 total defensive snaps.
When Walker departs, Franklin will become an expected starter next to Edgerrin Cooper and is a likely candidate to be the defensive playcaller for new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Trading away Wooden, a 2023 third-round pick who transitioned to defensive tackle last year, only weakens the Packers' interior defensive line depth entering the offseason. He played over 600 snaps on the interior for Jeff Hafley in 2025. There is arguably no position on the roster needing more help than defensive line ahead of the 2026 season.
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Franklin will come to Green Bay with a cap number of just over $7 million for 2026 and just over $9 million for 2027. His deal has no guaranteed money left. The Packers could convert his base salary into a signing bonus and lower his cap number further in 2026 if they wish.
The value of PFF grades can be debated, but Franklin finished the 2025 season as the site's second-worst graded off-ball linebacker, and he hasn't finished a season with an overall defense grade higher than 61.0 since the 2021 season -- before he became a full-time player for the Colts.
Franklin will join a linebacker group that has Cooper, Isaiah McDuffie , Ty'Ron Hopper and Jamon Johnson under contract.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers trade for LB Zaire Franklin, send DL Colby Wooden to Colts
