‘I need to see that boy again’: Colts LB Zaire Franklin eager to play Texans star

Zaire Franklin’s performance over the last two seasons has prompted the AFC South to take note.

Some of his recent comments may also have gotten the Indianapolis Colts’ competitors talking.

Franklin, who fell one win shy of the division crown and a playoff spot last season after losing to the Houston Texans, is eager to face C.J. Stroud and company again, while dismissing the Tennessee Titans as a peer altogether.

“No, because I’ve already smacked them a couple times,” Franklin stated on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast when asked if he had “beef” with the Titans. “It really is Houston. “I’m not going to lie, I like C.J., man. I support all our young brothers at quarterback, but C.J., he done said a lot of wild stuff to me in our run-ins.” He feels like himself. “I need to see that boy again.”

Following five consecutive losses to the Titans, the Colts swept the season series in 2023, with Franklin combining for 18 tackles in the two triumphs, both of which were decided by one touchdown. In the Texans rivalry, the teams split the series last season, but Houston won the regular-season finale — and the division as a whole — with a nail-biting 23-19 victory.

Franklin took issue with how Stroud described the two rivalry games.

Stroud passed for 648 yards and four touchdowns, including 348 yards in a Week 2 loss where he was sacked six times.

“Well, we were talking, and you know how the Super Bowl is at Radio Row, he had the XM Radio right before me and he was on there talking about how he cooked the Colts in both games,” said Franklin. “I saw him and grabbed him aside and said, ‘You know, when you played Anthony (Richardson), it was like 28-7 in the second quarter, and we were blowing you out. …Yes, you threw for 300 yards, but…