Zaire Franklin squashes issues with Pat McAfee as Colts look to focus on bigger problems

Zaire Franklin cracked a smile.

The Indianapolis Colts linebacker knew at some point he would have to formally address his back-and-forth with Pat McAfee, the former Colts punter turned media star. Franklin took exception to how McAfee criticized his teammate, quarterback Anthony Richardson, after Richardson tapped out of a division game at Houston in Week 8. McAfee publicly lobbied for Richardson to be benched, only for McAfee to pull a 180 and argue that the team should go back to Richardson after back-to-back losses and a pair of abysmal offensive outings with Joe Flacco.

Franklin and McAfee each took shots at each other on their respective platforms, Franklin via his podcast and McAfee on his show, before Franklin seemingly tried to offer a truce Monday.

“Being in the locker room, me being boots on the ground, I want to give our fans — I want to give our alumni something to be proud of and something to continue to cheer for,” Franklin said. “So, there is no back and forth. There is no feud because at the end of the day, we want the same things.”

.@bkravitz asked #Colts LB Zaire Franklin about his back and forth with Pat McAfee:

“To be honest with you, I got a lot of respect for Pat. … And quite frankly, I think maybe I probably didn’t handle it the right way. …”

“We all a family. We all want the same thing.” pic.twitter.com/i9aFswqy5P

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) November 25, 2024

Asked jokingly to “think about the ratings” if Franklin and McAfee were to collaborate on Franklin’s podcast, the NFL’s leading tackler simply laughed.

“Look, man,” Franklin said through a grin. “Playoff ratings hit the best.”

In order for the Colts to get there, though, it will take a lot more than ceased in-fighting. There are much bigger issues at hand, most notably the Indianapolis’ porous offensive line.

The Colts have lost four of their last five games, including a mistake-filled defeat against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The Colts piled up a season-high 10 penalties (two more were declined), with eight coming on offense and five being attributed to the offensive line. It resulted in a season-low six points and the team being shut out in the second half.

Richardson finished 11-of-28 (39.3%) passing for 172 yards, which was his second-lowest completion percentage of the season, but he was also was pressured on 46.7% of his dropbacks. The turnstile up front thoroughly affected Richardson’s ability to keep the offense humming, as he was just 2-of-14 passing for 33 yards when under pressure, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, versus 9-of-14 passing for 139 yards when operating in a clean pocket.

Per @NextGenStats:

Anthony Richardson completed only 2/14 passes for 33 yards when the Lions pressured him, compared to 9-of-14 passes for 139 yards with a clean pocket.

Detroit generated pressure on 14 of 30 dropbacks for a 46.7% pressure rate (highest in a game this season). pic.twitter.com/C50pvaODXA

— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) November 24, 2024

“I don’t think his stat line reflected the way he played,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Monday. “I thought he played pretty darn well looking back at the tape. We had some big plays negated by penalties. But again, I thought he was efficient running the football. He threw it to the right guy, made the right reads. I kno\carries.

“Again, it starts with myself,” Steichen said. “I think schematically, we’ve gotta look at some things, on what we’re doing, to get that thing going because (Taylor) is a very talented player that can create the home runs for us.”

One thing Steichen could consider is a lineup change, though the Colts’ offensive line is already working against a stacked deck that just got a bit taller. Starting center Ryan Kelly has missed three straight games while on injured reserve with a knee injury, and his replacement — rookie Tanor Bortolini — is now in the concussion protocol. There’s a real possibility Indianapolis could start its third different center this season, reserve Danny Pinter, in its forthcoming game at New England. Pinter has not started a game since 2022 and has just seven starts in his NFL career.

The Colts are already down two other starting offensive linemen. Left tackle Bernhard Raimann has missed the past two games with a left knee injury and is considered week-to-week, while right guard Will Fries broke his right fibula in Week 5 and is likely out for the season. Raimann and Fries have been replaced by rookie third-round pick Matt Goncalves and undrafted rookie Dalton Tucker, respectively, and the latter has really struggled after assuming a starting role in Week 6. Tucker has allowed 23 QB pressures since then, per TruMedia, which is the third-most among all offensive linemen during that span. The rookie has also struggled to hold his own as a run blocker.

“The guys across from you are studying you as well,” Tucker said while describing the biggest difference between college and the NFL. “They know your weaknesses like the back of their hand, and they’re gonna take advantage of that. I have to continue to watch myself and see what other people are seeing, that way I can fix that. … The room for error there is very slim.”

Steichen has continued to back Tucker and the rest of his inexperienced offensive line, though he could turn to veteran guard Mark Glowinski, whom the team signed to its practice squad last week, as a potential Tucker replacement. Glowinski previously started 55 games for the Colts from 2018-21, but he hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since starting in the Giants’ regular-season finale last year. Steichen said he would “look at everything” and won’t feel sorry for his team as it tries to keep its postseason hopes alive.

“There’s no excuses for anything. It’s all reality in this profession,” Steichen said. “You gotta go win football games.”