Less than an hour after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Indianapolis Colts are shopping linebacker Zaire Franklin, the Dallas Cowboys surfaced as a potential destination.
Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams called the Cowboys a “team to watch” with Franklin. Publicly, the linebacker hit the trading block Thursday night.
“The Cowboys are a team to watch as they need linebackers for the switch to the 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker,” wrote Williams.
Schefter didn’t mention any team names. But the ESPN insider wrote the Colts are already in trade discussions involving Franklin.
“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,” wrote Schefter on X.
Franklin has two seasons remaining of the 3-year, $31.26 million extension he inked with the Colts.
Why Cowboys Could Pursue LB Zaire Franklin
At this point, fans might have to take NFL pundits connecting the Cowboys to defensive free agents with a little grain of salt. That’s because analysts have floated Dallas as a destination for a lot of defenders this spring.
It’s easy to see why. The Cowboys finished 30th in yards allowed and last in points yielded. Furthermore, Dallas was last in passing yards allowed and net pass yards yielded per attempt.
The Cowboys need reinforcements throughout their defense.
Franklin could be a trade target, though, because he would help Dallas in a lot of areas on defense immediately.
The 29-year-old linebacker has spent his entire career with the Colts. He began his career almost entirely as a special teams player. Over his first four NFL campaigns, he never played more than 200 defensive snaps in a single season.
That remained the case during his fourth campaign even though he made 11 starts in 2021.
But during 2022, Franklin received an opportunity to play every game because All-Pro Shaquille Leonard was in and out of the lineup. Franklin played every single defensive snap for the Colts that season.
He’s barely come off the field since then. Franklin missed one game during 2023. But in 2024, he played every defensive snaps again on his way to second-team All-Pro honors.
Franklin played 96% of Indianapolis’s defensive snaps during 2025.
Over the past four seasons, Franklin has averaged 161 combined tackles, 8.3 tackles for loss, 4.8 quarterback hits, and 5.8 pass defenses per year. Since 2022, he has 10 forced fumbles and two interceptions as well.
Franklin will turn 30 years old in July.
What Franklin Could Cost in an NFL Trade for Cowboys
Indianapolis trading the inside linebacker would be a cost saving move. So, more than likely, Franklin will be an affordable trade target.
With the Colts, the linebacker has a 2026 cap hit a little north of $8 million.
“Franklin has no guaranteed money left on the three-year, $31.26 million contract extension he signed before the 2024 season,” Williams wrote. “He is scheduled to count $8.255 million against the cap, and the Colts will save $5.755 million if they part ways.”
Trading Franklin would officially get the Colts within compliance of the NFL salary cap. Every team must be under the $301.2 million 2026 salary cap by the start of the league year on Wednesday at 4 pm ET.
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