Colts star Zaire Franklin opens up on bizarre Pat McAfee feud

Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin said he’s focused on winning after trading jabs with Pat McAfee on their respective podcasts.

Over the weekend, Franklin clapped back at McAfee, a former Colts punter-turned media star, for being critical of Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson — and McAfee responded by pointing out a multitude of issues Indianapolis is dealing with.

Franklin squashed their beef when asked Monday by a reporter if he had plans to engage with McAfee on his “The Trenches” podcast.

“To be honest with you, I got a lot of respect for Pat. I understand exactly who he is to the organization, to our city, and quite frankly I think maybe I probably didn’t handle it the right way going into it,” Franklin said. “Now he said some things about me, so that is what it is … We’re all a family. We all want the same thing. I think at the end of the day, Pat wants what’s best for us, he wants us to win, he wants something to cheer about he wants something to go on his show and scream about in a good way.

“And that’s what I want for him. At the end of the day, me being in the locker room, me being the 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. So, there is no back and forth. There is no feud because at the end of the day, we want the same things.”

Franklin laughed when the reporter joked, “think about the ratings” if he had McAfee on his podcast.

“Look man, playoff ratings hit the best,” Franklin said. “So as long as I get to do a playoff battle, that’s all that matters.”

McAfee, who lives in Indianapolis with his wife and daughter, is a regular at Colts home games and he often sits in a suite Lucas Oil Stadium.

During an appearance on “GameDay Morning” ahead of the Colts’ 24-6 loss to the Lions this past Sunday, McAfee joked that his war with the players was “brewing.”

Franklin called a truce with McAfee after the Colts lost four of their last five games — including Sunday’s setback that dropped them 5-7.

Last week, Franklin and Colts linebacker EJ Speed took issue with the media’s criticism of Richardson asking to sub out of a division game at Houston for one play in Week 8 because he was tired. The Texans beat the Colts, 23-20.

Richardson was subsequently benched in favor of veteran Joe Flacco for two games with his inconsistent play being the largest factor in the decision.

Franklin and Speed did not name McAfee, but they did use his image to promote the episode, entitled, “Zaire & EJ CLAP BACK at the media.”

McAfee was publicly critical of Richardson and the Colts in the media and on social media.

McAfee first lobbied for him to be benched, and then said the Colts should go back to Richardson after back-to-back losses with Joe Flacco at the helm.

The Colts face the Patriots (3-9) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Sunday.