The Indianapolis Colts signed linebacker Zaire Franklin to a three-year contract extension this offseason not only for what he does on the field but also because of the impact he has in the locker room.
As general manager Chris Ballard has preached since the day he arrived, the Colts have harped on bringing high-character players into leadership positions on the roster.
As a two-time captain, Franklin has been the epitome of that notion, and he’s quickly earned the respect of his new defensive coordinator in Gus Bradley.
“When I got here, everybody talked about his leadership, his presence amongst the team – not only in the linebacker room, but you feel him,” Bradley said Thursday of Franklin.
A seventh-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Franklin has been a strong force on special teams in each of his four seasons in the league. He’s played sparingly on the defensive side of the ball, totaling 462 snaps in his career.
Compare that to the 1,280 snaps he’s played on defense, and it becomes clear what his role has been since entering the league. But there has been an interesting development at Colts training camp throughout the first two weeks of practices.
As star linebacker Shaquille Leonard recovers from offseason back surgery, Franklin has been the one to step into the middle of the defense next to starter Bobby Okereke.
Considering Franklin was the No. 3 linebacker in snaps played during the 2021 season, it isn’t all that much of a surprise. But that role was sort of niche as the SAM backer when the Colts would have three linebackers on the field, which wasn’t that often.
What’s interesting about the development during the first two weeks of training camp is that Franklin has been lining up at all three linebacker spots.
“His leadership out there – man, he’s playing multiple positions for us. It’s not, hey it’s a new system let’s just get you locked into one, I mean he’s playing all three,” Bradley said. “So, for a guy to come in and handle that kind of workload mentally and on the field, and lead, I’ve got great, great respect for him.”
It still isn’t clear when Leonard will be back—the Colts hope it’s before the Week 1 opener against the Houston Texans.
Regardless of what happens with Leonard, they have faith Franklin can be both a leader in the locker room and on the field in the meantime.
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