Report: Green Bay Packers trade Colby Wooden to Indianapolis Colts for Zaire Franklin

The Green Bay Packers have traded defensive tackle Colby Wooden to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for linebacker Zaire Franklin, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. Franklin led the NFL in tackles in 2024.

The Colts selected Franklin in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Syracuse, and he developed into a central part of the defense. He made the Pro Bowl in 2024 and was a Second Team All-Pro selection in 2024 as he led the NFL with 173 total tackles.

Franklin put up the best numbers of his career in 2023 when he had 179 tackles, including 107 solo stops, while adding three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He is entering the second year of a three-year, $31.3 million contract.

Wooden, meanwhile, started 16 games for Green Bay in 2025 and had a career year. He totaled 50 tackles, including six TFLs, in his third season with the franchise. The Packers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Auburn.

Zaire Franklin is now set to join a linebacker room that also includes Edgerrin Cooper. He will provide a new weapon for new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who took over for Jeff Hafley after he became the Arizona Cardinals head coach.

Additionally, Franklin’s addition comes as Quay Walker looks at free agency. Walker led the Packers with 128 tackles in 2025 while adding 2.5 sacks.

Green Bay went 9-7-1 in 2025 and made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the NFC. That meant the Packers had to go back to Soldier Field and face the Chicago Bears, who erased a 21-3 deficit to advance to the NFC Divisional Round with a 31-27 victory. That meant Green Bay dropped its final five games of the season.

The Packers also got dealt a blow in Week 15. Star pass rusher Micah Parsons tore his ACL, ending his first season with the franchise early. He is sure to be a key part of the defense once again as Gannon takes over, though he’s still just a few months into recovery.

While Parsons has expressed optimism about potentially returning for Week 1, he admitted he’s likely looking more at a Week 3 or Week 4 comeback. That said, he doesn’t plan to be on injured reserve when the 2026 season begins.

“I wanna be just at a really good spot,” Parsons said, via Packers.com’s Wes Hodkiewicz. “There’s a timing standpoint they want, but I don’t think I’ll be on IR – I would say that – to start the season. I think lofty, I’d be saying Week 1, but realistically, probably like Week 3, Week 4, just to make sure and just getting back into football, just practicing hard and getting ready to sustain, taking my body through what I go through, so I think it’s just more of that.”