Recently, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard said he wasn't sure what the future was for linebacker Zaire Franklin with the team. After ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that Indy was looking to move the LB, Franklin's future seems destined to be elsewhere.
Schefter tweeted that Indy was looking to make moves to get under the salary cap this offseason. Currently, the team is over the cap because the transition tag was applied to quarterback Daniel Jones. Should the team work out a long-term deal with Jones before free agency begins, the Colts would once again be under the cap.
It is a bit of a mess, and all created by Chris Ballard. This means Zaire Franklin might need to go. Should the team trade him, Indy would save $5,755,000 against the cap. Why the move seems desperate is that the linebacker doesn't have a massive cap hit to begin with; it's a relatively low $8,255,000.
Indianapolis Colts looking to trade linebacker Zaire Franklin
Seeking a trade simply to gain more cap room also implies that the Colts are likely to do something with Franklin either way, and before the unofficial start of free agency on Monday. Should Franklin be released, Indy would save as much money as they would if the team traded him.
Indianapolis has good reasons for wanting to move on from the linebacker. He might accumulate a lot of tackles, but he does hardly anything else well. He is atrocious in pass coverage and doesn't offer much in terms of pass rush, though defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's system doesn't require him to do so very often.
Ballard has said this offseason that he understands the defensive front needs to get faster and more athletic, and that implies not having Zaire Franklin be a part of the system in the future. He's got speed, but plenty of other players have more. Should he return, opponents know that there will be a gaping hole over the middle of the field for them to complete passes in.
In 2022, Franklin's first full year as a starter, he had a passer rating allowed of 103.2. Every season since, his passer rating has gotten worse. He has proven he can't cover well.
While he makes a lot of tackles, Franklin also misses a lot, especially for an inside linebacker whose main job is to wrap up ball-carriers. In 2025, he whiffed on 13.9 percent of his tackle attempts, an unacceptable number for someone who plays his position.
After Adam Schefter reported about the Indianapolis Colts looking to trade Zaire Franklin, the linebacker seems almost guaranteed not return next season. He might sign elsewhere or focus full-time on his excellent podcast, but he won't be in the middle of Indy's defense. That is probably a good thing.