The Colts are trading LB Zaire Franklin to the Packers for DL Colby Wooden. Franklin spent eight years with the Colts and arrives with two left on his contract.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero: "The Colts get Franklin's more than $7 million salary off the books ... The Packers wanted to keep LB Quay Walker and made several runs at re-signing him before the Zaire Franklin trade. But it now appears the former first-round pick will hit free agency Monday, and he is expected to have a strong market."
Franklin spent the past four years as a full-time starter for the Colts and finished three of those among the position's top 5 fantasy producers. He slipped to the bottom of LB2 territory last season, though, and saw his performance fall off.
Franklin earned career-low Pro Football Focus grades in run defense, tackling, and coverage, as well as overall (unsurprisingly).
He did post a career-high 19 pressures, but even that area proved less efficient than 2024. Franklin more than doubled his total pass-rush chances (52 to 113) while adding just 4 pressures to his 2024 total.
The trade should mean he'll start in Walker's place with the Packers, and full playing time would keep him fantasy relevant. Franklin should have the room to challenge for a top-30 spot again, but don't expect a resurgence.
Walker's not necessarily a winner or loser here. He's clearly headed elsewhere, and the storyline suggests that Green Bay didn't want to pay him as much as he expects to find on the open market. We'll see where he lands.
The Franklin trade, meanwhile, looks like at least a mild win for the Packers' incumbent LB starter, Edgerrin Cooper.
He trailed Walker in fantasy points per game last season -- Cooper's first as a full-time starter -- so losing him certainly won't hurt. And Green Bay could have found higher-ceiling Walker replacements either in free agency or the draft.
Replacing him with a declining Franklin (who'll turn 30 in July) leaves more room for Cooper to turn into this year's top Green Bay LB.
The Colts pick up a decent interior lineman in Wooden, a fourth-round pick in 2023 who heads into the final year of his rookie contract. But there's not much fantasy impact.
Wooden has 0.5 career sacks and no more than 26 solo tackles in any of his three seasons.
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