The Packers were able to make a trade ahead of the start of Free Agency, and a rare one at that. The rare, player-for-player trade would net the Packers a Team Captain Linebacker in Zaire Franklin from the Indianapolis Colts, for one of their own former draft picks, Defensive Lineman, Colby Wooden.
Wooden leaves Green Bay after being there since 2023, when the Packers selected him in Round 4, Pick 123 in the 2023 NFL Draft. At a glance, his career numbers thus far are 87 tackles, 45 solo, and 0.5 sacks. His role was heightened in the 2025 season when the Packers traded away their veteran Defensive Tackle, Kenny Clark, to the Dallas Cowboys for Star Edge Micah Parsons. In that role, Wooden would record 50 total tackles, with 26 of them being solo and 24 of them assisted. The bright side of Wooden's game was in the run game, as he would tie for a team-high six tackles for loss with De'Vonte Wyatt, who played only 10 games. Wooden would also add six Quarterback pressures throughout the season, and would appear in all seventeen regular-season games for Green Bay.
Now getting to what the Packers are getting in return for that production from Colby Wooden, as Linebacker, Zaire Franklin is now a Green Bay Packer. The move itself is something a little out of the ordinary for Brian Gutekunst and company, but a great one at that. Franklin brings with him three straight seasons of 125+ total tackles, as well as being named a Second-Team All-Pro in 2024. When you look at the surface of this trade, it tells us a few things that have been confirmed by now. Linebacker Quay Walker will depart Green Bay and test Free Agency on Monday, which was confirmed by Tom Pelissero. This trade brings an instant starter at Mike Linebacker for Defensive Coordinator, Jonathan Gannon, who spent time with Franklin in Indianapolis from 2018 to 2020, when Franklin wasn't a full starter yet.
Franklin has also led the NFL in tackles before, with 173 total tackles in 2024. In the last three years, Franklin has totaled 179 tackles in 2023, which was a Colts' team high and franchise record, and he followed up the following year with 173 tackles in 2024, a league high. In addition to his 2024 season, Franklin would add five forced fumbles, as well as 3.5 sacks on his way to being named a Second Team All-Pro. This past season, Franklin totaled 125 tackles for the Colts before being mentioned as a possible cap casualty in Indianapolis. This would ultimately lead to the trade this afternoon of Franklin to the Packers. Franklin, who is 29 years old, is a former Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award Nominee in 2023, as well as a Team Captain for the Colts in 2025. This move will pair nicely with Linebacker, Edgerrin Cooper, who will also bring in a high-quality player and person to fill a spot that the Packers needed with Quay Walker's departure.