On the eve of free agency, the Packers are bringing in a linebacker.
According to multiple reports, Indianapolis has agreed to trade Zaire Franklin to Green Bay in exchange for defensive tackle Colby Wooden.
Franklin, 29, recorded 125 total tackles with seven tackles for loss and six quarteback hits in 2025. He also had 2.0 sacks, five passes defensed, and a forced fumble.
Franklin led the league with 173 total tackles in 2024, earning his first Pro Bowl berth. He was also a second-team AP All-Pro selection.
Franklin has been remarkably durable in his eight-year career, missing just one game for which he was eligible since entering the league as a seventh-round pick in 2018.
He has two years remaining on his contract.
Wooden appeared in all 17 games with 16 starts in 2025. A fourth-round pick in 2023, Wooden has appeared in 47 career games with 17 starts. He’s entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Green Bay acquiring Franklin likely means the club will not retain pending free agent Quay Walker.
Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary posted on Instagram a farewell message to Green Bay. And then he deleted it.
Now, someone is getting out the word that Gary’s account was hacked. Multiple reports have tweeted the claim, citing an unnamed source.
If it was, Gary quickly regained control of his account. If it was, someone took the time to make a graphic with a five-paragraph message that reads like a legitimate goodbye.
As hacks go, then, this one was about as boring as they get.
Gary is due to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $18 million in 2026, with $800,000 in per-game roster bonuses and a $700,000 workout bonus. He has a cap number of $28 million.
There’s no trigger that would require the Packers to make a quick decision on his future once the 2026 league year begins.
Packers defensive end Rashan Gary is on the way out of Green Bay. Maybe.
Gary posted on social media that he is leaving the Packers, although he later deleted the post.
It seems likely that Gary was told he will be released unless the Packers can find a trade partner willing to take on his $19.5 million non-guaranteed pay for 2026. But he may have thought better of making that public while he and his agent try to determine the best deal they can get elsewhere.
In his deleted post, Gary said it had been an honor to be a Packer.
“Green Bay — When I got the call in 2019, it was one of the greatest moments of my life, and it always will be,” Gary wrote. “The opportunity to represent Green Bay and Packers Nation across the country and around the world is something I will never forget. Like all chapters in life, this one has come to an end. I want to thank everyone who supported me and my family throughout the years. The love, the energy, and the memories mean more than words can explain. On to my next stop nowhere near done yet. All 6'5", 275 can’t wait.”
Plenty of teams will be interested in the 28-year-old Gary, who has played all seven of his NFL seasons in Green Bay.
Bob Harlan, who served for 19 years as president and CEO of the Green Bay Packers, has died. He was 89.
The team announced Harlan’s passing on Thursday.
“The Packers family was saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Harlan,” Packers president and CEO Ed Policy said. “Bob was a visionary leader whose impact on the franchise was transformational. From his inspired hiring of Ron Wolf to turn around the club’s on-field fortunes to his tireless work to redevelop Lambeau Field, Bob restored the Packers to competitive excellence during his tenure and helped ensure our unique and treasured flagship NFL franchise was on sound footing for sustained generational success.”
Harlan was hired by the Packers in 1971, as the assistant General Manager. He became the team president and CEO (the highest position in the publicly-owned franchise) in 1989. The team quickly reversed two decades of on-field struggles, becoming a perennial contender and appearing in two Super Bowls before his retirement in 2008.
For 13 straight seasons, from 1992 through 2004, the Packers finished at .500 or better.
Harlan is survived by his wife, Madelaine, and six children. His son, Kevin, is a prominent sports broadcaster. Another son, Bryan, is a sports agent whose clients include Giants coach John Harbaugh.
Preseason practices will be a family affair for the Cardinals and Packers.
The Packers are planning to host a joint practice with the Cardinals in Green Bay before the teams meet in the final week of the preseason, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. That means new Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur will be on the practice field with his brother, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
The full preseason schedule has not been announced, but the league sometimes gives an initial heads up to teams about what to expect, and the Cardinals and Packers have apparently been told they’ll be meeting in the final preseason game.
The LaFleur brothers will not face off in the regular season, as the Cardinals and Packers don’t play this year. Jim and John Harbaugh are the only brothers ever to have coached against each other in the regular season, and also the only brothers ever to have coached against each other in the postseason.
