Zaire Franklin
LB
#44
Experience: 9 years
Height: 6-0
Age: 29
Weight: 235 lbs
College: Syracuse
2025 SEASON
-
Solo60
-
SCK2
-
FF1
-
INT--
Defense
| YEAR | TEAM | G | Total | Solo | AST | SCK | SFTY | PDEF | INT | TDS | YDS | AVG | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 123 | 60 | 63 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |||||
| 2024 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 155 | 75 | 80 | 3.5 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 2023 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 159 | 87 | 72 | 1.5 | 0 | 6 | |||||
| 2022 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 147 | 83 | 64 | 3 | 0 | 6 | |||||
| 2021 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 2020 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2018 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| TOTAL | 132 | 659 | 347 | 312 | 10 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 8 |
Fumbles
| YEAR | TEAM | G | FUM | LOST | FF | OWN FR | OPP FR | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 1 | |||||
| 2024 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 5 | |||||
| 2023 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 2 | |||||
| 2022 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 3 | |||||
| 2021 | Indianapolis Colts | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 0 | |||||
| 2018 | Indianapolis Colts | 16 | 0 | |||||
| TOTAL | 132 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Biography
The Green Bay Packers acquired LB Zaire Franklin from the Indianapolis Colts on March 11, 2026.
(ZI-air) Franklin (6-0, 235), a ninth-year player out of Syracuse University, was originally selected by the Colts in the seventh round (No. 235 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He played in 132 games with 82 starts for Indianapolis from 2018-25, recording 707 tackles (395 solo), 34 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 26 passes defensed, three interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Franklin also registered 31 special teams stops and a blocked punt with the Colts. The six-time team captain (2020-25) led the league with 173 tackles (93 solo) and ranked No. 2 in the NFL with a career-high five forced fumbles in 2024, earning second-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press as well as his first career Pro Bowl selection.
From 2022-25, Franklin led the NFL in tackles (643) and ranked No. 2 in solo tackles (364). Dating back to 2000 (per TruMedia), he is the only NFL player to register 600-plus tackles (643), 10-plus sacks (10) and 10-plus forced fumbles (11) over a four-season span (2022-25). Franklin finished in the top five in the NFL in tackles in three straight seasons (No. 4 in 2022, No. 2 in 2023, No. 1 in 2024), the only player in the league to accomplish that feat over that span. He posted 10-plus tackles in 34 games from 2022-25, the most in the NFL over that span and the most in Colts history. Franklin has missed just one game due to injury in his career and ranks No. 1 among NFL linebackers in games played (132) since 2018.