Continuing to wear #44 proudly in the pros
Syracuse Orange football alum Zaire Franklin continued his dominance with the Indianapolis Colts, as the linebacker finished the NFL regular season with the most tackles in the entire league, beating out Arizona’s Budda Baker by nine.
Franklin followed up a career-best 179 tackle season by nearly matching it this year. In addition to the league-best 173 tackles (93) solo, Zaire also contributed 3.5 sacks, two picks, six pass breakups, and five forced fumbles to the Colts’ campaign.
This marks the third consecutive season he’s finished with over 160 tackles. It also (finally) earned Franklin a well-deserved Pro Bowl invite, the first of his career.
Since being drafted in 2018, Franklin has developed from a rotational piece into one of the best LBs in the NFL. He entered 2024 as the first entry in the NFL Top 100 as voted on by players.
Indy was eliminated from playoff contention in Week 16, though Franklin’s sack of Jacksonville QB Mac Jones in Overtime helped them finish on a high note with a 26-23 win.
Franklin is under contract with the Colts until 2028 thanks to a three-year extension he signed last March. The organization is keeping both head coach Shane Steichen and GM Chris Ballard for now so we’ll see if they can build a playoff contender around Zaire for next season.