A trade announced on Tuesday was dead by Wednesday night. That’s what happened to star Chargers defender Daiyan Henley, who was all set to go to the Denver Broncos pending a physical. However, the Broncos then backed away from the deal, creating confusion. After all, it’s not like Henley is a bad player.
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Though the reason was unknown initially, ESPN reported that Henley’s knee was a concern for the Broncos. The linebacker, as demanded, had gone to the Broncos facility for the physical. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh explained that Denver’s methods needed looking into.
“The Broncos based a pass-fail on a medical grade based on whether we would take less compensation,” he said at a press conference on Thursday. “And we wouldn’t, and we didn’t. And in my opinion, it’s one of those loopholes that the league should really look into because it sets a bad precedent and continues to set a bad precedent.”
The Chargers agreed to send him to Denver for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, pending a physical. However, Denver might have wanted something more out of the trade.
“I mean, it’s a medical grade. It’s a pass-fail for a medical grade, and they told us they weren’t going to pass him if it was a fourth and a fifth, which was agreed upon,” Harbaugh added. “… They would pass him for a fourth and a fill-in-the-blank, and that was, I don’t know what to call that. But that’s what it is.
Henley took that physical on Wednesday. By late that night, the Broncos said the deal “will not be finalized,” and Henley was back with the winless Chargers. Pro Football Talk reported that Denver found arthritis in Henley’s knee.
Per reports, the Broncos approached with a revised offer after Henley’s physical. They offered two alternatives: a fourth-round pick plus a seventh-rounder, or a fourth-rounder plus a pick swap, per Adam Schefter. The Chargers said no to both.
General manager Joe Hortiz backed up Harbaugh’s version of events. He declined to confirm a knee issue, but he did describe a call from Denver after the physical. He also acknowledged how hard the situation was for Henley, who returned to Los Angeles late Wednesday night.
“We came to terms on it, made the agreement, they called us up and were asking us to amend the trade based on the physical.”
Harbaugh also raised a good question. Why would Henley be healthy enough to play for the Chargers but not for the Broncos? Henley has started all eight games this season, and he leads the team with 51 tackles. He has done so in the past two seasons as well, posting well over 100 total tackles in each of them.
It is not the first time something like this has happened. The Ravens called off a Maxx Crosby trade with the Raiders earlier this year over a failed physical. The Raiders kept Crosby.
For the Chargers, the timing could not be worse. They are the league’s only winless team at 0-8, while Denver is a 7-2 division rival. But Daiyan Henley had a chance to go to a winning team. His prowess is only being wasted the longer he stays in Los Angeles, and he is in the final year of his rookie contract.
One fan blamed the Chargers for the whole mess.
“B—- you sent Henley to us with no prior reports of him having arthritis in the knee 😭. You were trying to fleece Denver with a work-in-progress linebacker with questionable health. That’s your own fault. You know damn well Denver doesn’t offer that much capital if they knew.”
Another fan went further and accused Los Angeles of hiding something.
“Oh my God, the Chargers trying to pull a fast one on the Broncos. They knew he was damaged.”
A fan went straight for Harbaugh’s past, which involves his links to the 2023 sign-stealing scandal in Michigan.
“Harbaugh complaining about someone else using rule loopholes is rich”
“So Jim harbaugh is not a trustworthy guy? I’m shocked,” another fan echoed.
Whether the NFL takes a look is another question. For now, Henley is back with an 0-8 team. The Broncos have said only that the deal will not be finalized, and Harbaugh is not letting it go quietly.