{"id":794995,"date":"2026-03-06T01:20:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T01:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/794995\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T01:20:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T01:20:33","slug":"indianapolis-colts-shockingly-looking-to-trade-all-pro-key-defender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/794995\/","title":{"rendered":"Indianapolis Colts shockingly looking to trade All-Pro key defender"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL\u2019s new league year is approaching, and we have already seen some crazy moves made. Whether it\u2019s been trades or cuts, there\u2019s been splashes made.<\/p>\n<p>The Indianapolis Colts made one of those moves this week by placing a tag on Daniel Jones. Now they are working on a stunning trade.<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/dallas-cowboys-eyeing-all-pro-defender-to-fix-defense\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Cowboys eyeing All-Pro defender to fix defense<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Reports indicated the Colts are shopping the heartbeat of their defense: linebacker Zaire Franklin. This move is puzzling, and it is unknown what compensation is being requested.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Colts are speaking with teams about a trade for their former Pro Bowl LB Zaire Franklin as they look to get under the salary cap by next week, per sources. Franklin led the NFL in tackles in 2024. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6t0BJzwkYc\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/6t0BJzwkYc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdamSchefter\/status\/2029710323192668516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Franklin, who was drafted in 2018 by the Colts, has been a fan favorite and the soul of this defense. In 2024, he led the NFL in tackles.<\/p>\n<p>That same year, he earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. Now, less than two years after his big season, the Colts have taken calls on his trade prospects.<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/new-york-jets-make-questionable-decision-with-recently-acquired-offensive-weapon\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Jets make questionable decision with recently acquired offensive weapon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Colts already might lose wide receiver Alec Piece to free agency. Now they are exploring moving on from another core component of their team.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/default-369-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-129216\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Dec 14, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin (44) stands on the sideline during the third quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Franklin has been the standard of durability for the Colts and the NFL. He has missed only one career game since being drafted.<\/p>\n<p>The Colts might be trying to recoup draft capital after trading for Sauce Gardner last season. It is still surprising to see their steady, core defender on the block.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp; trending stories on The Big Lead <\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n<p>NFL: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/5-most-overrated-nfl-free-agents-hitting-the-market-in-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">5 most overrated NFL free agents hitting the market in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>MLB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/what-drug-did-jurickson-profar-take-new-reports-reveals-ped-use\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">What drug did Jurickson Profar take? MLB announces PED use<\/a><\/p>\n<p>SPORTS MEDIA: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/stephen-a-smith-bashes-underwhelming-nba-star-food-addict\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Stephen A. Smith bashes underwhelming NBA star as \u2018food addict\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>VIRAL: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/nbc-delivers-epic-nostalgia-throwback-tuesday-nba-broadcast\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBC delivers epic nostalgia with \u2018Throwback Tuesday\u2019 NBA broadcast<\/a><\/p>\n<p>WORLD CUP: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/will-iran-compete-in-the-2026-world-cup-donald-trump-weighs-in\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Will Iran compete in the 2026 World Cup? Donald Trump weighs in<\/a><br \/>WNBA: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/letter-from-2-time-mvp-4-time-all-star-reveals-rift-between-wnba-players-union-leaders\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Players, union leaders divided, claims letter from 2-time MVP and 4-time All-Star<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL\u2019s new league year is approaching, and we have already seen some crazy moves made. Whether it\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6,4995],"class_list":{"0":"post-794995","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-zaire-franklin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116179608982400775","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}