The Indianapolis Colts will waive Colby Wooden on Sunday, ending a brief stay that began when they acquired him earlier this offseason from the Green Bay Packers for Zaire Franklin. The move sends Wooden back into the market just as the roster picture tightens after final cuts.
For Wooden, the timing matters because the waiver process begins in earnest on Monday, which means any team that wants him has to act quickly or wait for him to clear. The defensive lineman was going into the final year of his rookie contract when the deal was made, and the Colts are now moving on before that year ever gets going in Indianapolis.
The trade was already being viewed through two different lenses. Franklin has settled in with Green Bay, where he became the starting Mike after Quay Walker signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency, received a new contract and was named a team captain in the Packers’ preseason opener. That made the return look stronger on the Green Bay side even before the Colts decided to cut ties with Wooden.
Wooden’s own path helps explain why he has been such a difficult fit to keep in one place. He was just 273 pounds coming out of college, started off below 280 pounds and still got NFL starts for a playoff team at nose tackle. In 2025, he was Green Bay’s out-of-place nose tackle after Kenny Clark was included in the Micah Parsons trade, a reminder of how quickly the Packers’ depth chart changed around him.
That is the friction in the deal now: the Packers appear to have used the trade to steady one part of their defense, while the Colts are preparing to waive the player they received. Whether Wooden is claimed or clears and lands elsewhere as a free agent will become the next test, but the first move is already set. On Sunday, Indianapolis lets him go.
