GREEN BAY, Wis. — Donning a ‘C’ on his right chest plate is just another ho-hum day at the office for Zaire Franklin. At this point, it’s not a rite of passage—it’s a tradition.
“Man, I think it’s just my personality,” Franklin suggested on Monday. “I just really enjoy serving the people around me. If you let my wife tell it, I’ve got this innate ability to tell you a little bit of what you want to do, what you need to do; that kind of thing.”
The Green Bay Packers’ newest acquisition at linebacker hasn’t even taken a regular-season snap yet; however, he’s already cemented himself atop the hierarchy as one of the team’s most trusted and sought-after voices. It comes with the territory when you’ve been in the league for as long as Franklin has. At 30 years old, Green Bay is just the second stop of his career after an eight-year tenure with the Indianapolis Colts.
After opting not to retain Quay Walker, their former first-round pick who had been a four-year starter at linebacker, the Packers turned to Franklin as their contingency plan. They traded nose tackle Colby Wooden—a starter in 2025 after Devonte Wyatt was lost to a season-ending lower-leg injury—to the Colts for Franklin. Wooden was eventually released by the Colts during cut-downs last week.
Not only were the Packers bringing aboard a savvy veteran whose presence would help stabilize the second level of their defense, but Franklin’s value transcends what he provides between the white lines. A leader of his caliber rarely becomes available, so general manager Brian Gutekunst, naturally, was going to pounce at the opportunity to pursue him.
Franklin endured a tumultuous upbringing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that worsened by the time he entered high school. His mother, Shelice Highsmith, passed away after a battle with a brain tumor when Franklin was just 16 years old. His grandmother, Juanita Highsmith-Bailey, helped raise him before she, too, succumbed to kidney failure two months later.
It was the death of his mother that prompted the start of Shelice’s Angels—a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia that Franklin founded two years ago.
Fueled by the memory of his loved ones, Franklin excelled as a linebacker at La Salle College High School—an all-male, college preparatory school in Wyndmoor. He earned PIAA AAAA All-State and All-Catholic First-team honors, while also serving as the defense’s captain—a general theme that would attach itself to Franklin for the next decade-plus. With recruiters vying for him, Franklin weighed nine scholarship offers before committing to Syracuse.
A full-time player across a four-year career with the Orange, Franklin never missed a game. He played in all 48 of them, tallying 187 total tackles, 31.5 sacks, and even a pair of interceptions. As has been the case in the NFL, Franklin’s worth went far beyond his ability on the field. By the time he was a sophomore, Franklin was already voted as a team captain by his peers, along with quarterback Terrel Hunt, center Rob Trudo, and defensive end Luke Arciniega. Franklin was just the fourth sophomore to be named captain in the program’s history, and the first since Angelo Acocella in 1945.
Franklin remained a captain for the remainder of his time with the school, making him just the second three-time captain in Syracuse’s history.
“I think it’s just in me to push people around me, for good and bad,” Franklin said. “I just come in here and try to serve and learn from the guys as best as I can. I think that’s what I care about most—being somebody they can depend on. That means the most to me.”
After waiting until the seventh round—No. 235 overall, 21 selections away from going undrafted—to hear his name called in the 2018 NFL Draft, Franklin spent the first three years of his career as a backup and special teams contributor. He started just four games on defense in that span, but the Colts had seen enough from him—both on the field and off of it—to name him as a team captain ahead of the 2020 campaign.
That meant Franklin had now been a team captain at all three levels of his football career, but achieving that feat as a professional was the pinnacle.
“I lost my parents when I was young, which taught me to grow up very fast, and, thankfully, I had great people in my life and in my village,” said Franklin. “They taught me a lot of values and things I still live on and believe in to this day.
“I’ve got to credit my mom and grandmother for instilling what they did in me, and I’ve just been trying to keep their legacy and memory going each day.”
Since entering the league at one of the most physically demanding positions on the defensive side of the ball, Franklin has redefined what it means to be an ironman. He has appeared in 132 of a possible 133 games across eight seasons, only missing one game due to a knee injury in 2023.
Franklin is bringing 738 career tackles—644 of which have come since 2022—to Green Bay, as well as a familiar patch on his chest that may as well be tattooed by now. He was elected as one of the Packers’ five season-long captains on Monday, joining quarterback Jordan Love, tight end Tucker Kraft, safety Xavier McKinney, and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie.
Being named captain isn’t the result of what Franklin has done on the field—he played just 17 snaps in two preseason games this summer with the No. 1 defense. It’s based on merit.
Sunday’s first game of the season will mark a new chapter for Franklin, as well as an opportunity to validate the franchise’s belief in him. It isn’t going to come easy—Kyler Murray, a former No. 1 overall pick, is in the midst of a fresh start of his own. After a seven-year run with the Arizona Cardinals, Murray signed with the Minnesota Vikings this past spring and was anointed as their starting quarterback. With 532 rushing attempts on his resume, Murray offers a lethal, multi-faceted blend that has decimated defenses in the past.
Franklin, along with the rest of the Packers’ defense, will have their work cut out for them in slowing him down, as well as the tandem of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at receiver.
“We don’t really match anybody’s intensity—we set the tone for how we play,” Franklin said. “We’re going to go out there and play our brand of ball that we’ve been installing and creating since April.
“Minnesota’s just the first test. It’ll be good to put that on tape and let the league know what the Green Bay Packers’ defense is all about.”
Zachary Jacobson is the author of The Packer Dispatch. He is entering his 12th season covering the Green Bay Packers after spending seven as the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @zachjacobson or contact him via email at itszachariahj@gmail.com.
Love these kinds of stories, Zachary!