Zaire Franklin Hoping to Help Lead Colts to a Championship

Green Bay Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin is excited to join his new team.

The Indianapolis Colts traded Franklin to the Packers in free agency after eight seasons with the team. He joins a star-studded defense led by Micah Parsons and Xavier McKinney. Appearing on NFL Network’s “The Insiders” on May 16, Franklin said the Packers have a decent shot to compete for a Super Bowl, and he was ready to help them get there.

“I’m definitely excited to be a Green Bay Packer this season,” he said. “Just being in the building, getting ingratiated to the tradition, to the culture, to the organization, it’s been a blessing. I’m just thankful for the guys in the building welcoming me in like I’m family, and it’s definitely a special momentum building in that building going into the season.”

Franklin was already on his way out during the offseason. He recounted how he was pulled out of an award ceremony for his work in his hometown of Philadelphia because his agent told him the Colts had already made plans to trade him.

At the same time, Colts general manager Chris Ballard told him that several teams were interested in his services. Franklin credited Ballard for giving him the chance to choose the best option for him and for handling the trade with class.

Joining the Packers means a reunion with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who served as defensive backs coach in Indy for Franklin’s first three seasons in the NFL.

Franklin said he was excited to play in Gannon’s “fast and physical” defense. He said Gannon is “full of energy” and that the two share a love for the game. He was looking forward to creating “something special” with his new teammates, including two-time All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney, 2025 Pro Bowl cornerback Keisean Nixon, and one of the game’s premier edge rushers, Micah Parsons.

Franklin—a former All-Pro and Pro Bowler himself, and the league’s leading tackler in 2024—will also form a new tandem with young linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.

Franklin said he had the opportunity to meet with Cooper during joint practices last preseason and was impressed with his growth. Having been in the building with him for several months now, Franklin is impressed by his raw athletic ability.

He told Cooper that they were “going to be the best duo in the world,” and he is going to hold himself to that standard.

What drew him to Green Bay in the first place was the opportunity to compete for a championship, which he believes the Packers are in a prime position to do.

“First and foremost, it starts with the quarterback. Jordan Love, I told him he was the main reason I came to Green Bay. I wasn’t coming to Green Bay or going to an organization without a proven franchise QB. And he is that. He’s the type of quarterback you want to be around: great man in the locker room, competes every single day, is constantly working to get better,” he said.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen QB1 just really raising the level of everybody by his work ethic like that, so it’s really dope to see. And then we’ve got one of the best defensive players on the planet, Micah Parsons, as well.

“[Head] coach [Matt] LaFleur has been huge on preaching ‘finishing the way we want,’ to talk about having that killer instinct and doing what it takes to get to that next step, and I think these guys are ready to take that next step. I’m ready to help lead him there and do my part to bring a Lombardi back to Green Bay.”