GREEN BAY, Wis. — Faced with the possibility of losing leading tackler Quay Walker in free agency next week, the Green Bay Packers have tried to make up for it by acquiring Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers sent defensive tackle Colby Wooden to the Colts in exchange for Franklin.
Franklin, 29, has two years left on a three-year, $31.26 million contract extension he signed with the Colts, but that deal contains no more guaranteed money. Franklin has a base salary of $6.24 million for this season along with roster bonuses that could bring his total 2026 pay to $7.005 million. He has a base salary of $8.24 million in 2027, and he could earn up to $9.005 million if his contract is not renegotiated.
Walker, 25, could fetch in the neighborhood of $15 million per year in free agency. The Packers declined the fifth-year option on Walker’s contract last offseason, making him a free agent when the new league year opens next week.
Walker, a first-round pick in 2022, is coming off a career-best 128 tackles despite missing three games.
“He’s obviously played very well for us in his time here and been an exceptional leader, and losing him would be tough,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said last month at the NFL combine. “I think we have guys in house that can play and fill in if that’s not the case, but a lot of respect for Quay and if we’re able to get him back, I would be all for that.”
Instead, it appears Franklin will step into Walker’s role, and it’s the first major addition for new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who was hired this offseason after Jeff Hafley left Green Bay to become the Dolphins head coach.
Franklin joined the Colts as a seventh-round pick in 2018 and eventually blossomed into a special teams captain and, later, one of the team’s defensive leaders. But the change in defensive scheme last season might have negatively affected Franklin.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard said after last season that part of his staff’s offseason efforts would be to get “younger and faster” on defense. Franklin, who led the NFL in tackles in 2024, is considered more of a traditional inside linebacker who plays best running downhill.
The Colts created more than $5 million in cap space by offloading Franklin’s contract, though they will also need to absorb Wooden’s base salary of $1.145 million.
Wooden, a fourth-round pick in 2023, became a full-time starter for the first time in his career last season. Playing mostly as an interior run defender, Wooden set a career-high with 50 tackles, including six for a loss.
ESPN’s Stephen Holder contributed to this report.
