Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is not happy with the way the Broncos backed out of a trade for Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley, or with the NFL rules that allowed them to do so.
After agreeing to trade a fourth-round pick and a fifth-round pick for Henley, the Broncos told Chargers GM Joe Hortiz they couldn’t go through with it because Henley’s physical revealed concerns about his knee. The Broncos were still willing to trade for Henley, but wanted to give up less. Harbaugh believes physical exams should only be to determine whether or not the player is healthy, not to renegotiate trade terms.
“What happened with the trade? Here’s what I know, from talking to Joe: The Broncos based a pass-fail on a medical grade based on whether we would take less compensation, and we wouldn’t and we didn’t,” Harbaugh said. “In my opinion it’s one of those loopholes that the league should really look into, because it sets a bad precedent.”
Asked if it’s permitted for teams to renegotiate trades after the trade deadline, Harbaugh answered, “It shouldn’t be, but apparently it is. That’s why it’s a loophole, and teams should not have the ability to do that.”
Harbaugh said the Broncos offered to say Henley passed his physical, but only if the Chargers would take something less than the fifth-round pick the Broncos had agreed to.
“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’s a fourth and a fifth, which was agreed upon — they would not pass him for that. They would pass him for a fourth and a fill in the blank. I don’t know what to call that, but that’s what it is,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh is right that the NFL has set a bad precedent. By allowing teams to renegotiate trade terms after the deadline, the NFL is incentivizing teams to engage in chicanery on physical exams to squeeze their trade partners into taking less favorable deals. The Chargers refused to budge, but the NFL rules shouldn’t have put the Chargers in a position where they had to make that decision.
Broncos Clips
The trade deadline is the trade deadline. Except when it’s not the trade deadline.
The strange situation involving the failed trade of Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley to the Broncos reveals a major flaw in the NFL’s deadline-day machinery.
Adam Schefter of ESPN has provided the details (which we have confirmed to be accurate) in the most nonchalant, innocuous terms possible: “It is not uncommon for one team to have some medical concerns about a player while another does not. In this case, Denver had concerns about Henley following his physical. Even then, the Broncos still wanted Henley with Denver and LA discussing revised trade alternatives throughout the day, taking into account those concerns. In the end, no agreement was reached. The deal was off.”
Here’s what it means. The Chargers and Broncos struck a deal for Henley and independently communicated the terms to the NFL before the trade deadline of 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 10. Like all trades, the Henley deal was subject to the player passing a physical.
The Broncos discovered an issue with Henley’s knee. It has, we’re told, arthritis. (As one source with neither the Chargers nor the Broncos told PFT, most if not all starting linebackers in the NFL have some degree of arthritis in their knees.)
The NFL allows trade terms to be revised after the deadline, to an extent. Per a league spokesperson: “We would permit them to change the pick compensation. They would not be able to add a player or trade a different player.”
Instead of concluding that the physical had been failed and canceling the deal (like the Ravens did with the trade for Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby in March), the Broncos were willing to proceed with revised terms. In other words, for something less than a fourth-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2028, they’d still do the deal.
That’s not how it should work after the deadline. The window has closed. The deals are done, or they’re not. After 4:00 p.m. ET on November 10, the only question left to answer is whether the player passes or fails the physical.
As one source explained it, deadline-day deals have gone through in the past with terms that were revised after the deadline.
Based on Schefter’s reporting, that’s what happened here. The Broncos had “medical concerns,” but not enough to reject the player. The Broncos and Chargers discussed “revised trade alternatives” on Wednesday — the day after the window for doing trades ended.
The Chargers could have taken less in order to get the deal done. They chose not to do so. The fact that the rules allow trade terms to be renegotiated after the deadline opened the door for the Broncos to squeeze the Chargers.
The situation creates an opportunity for shenanigans. If, for example, Team A is preparing to trade a player to Team B at the deadline for a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick, Team C can swoop in and offer a fourth-round pick and a fifth-round pick. Then, when the physical is performed after the deadline, Team C can say, “Well, we have medical concerns. If we don’t agree to reduce the package to a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick, we’re going to fail the player on his physical.”
That’s not to say the Broncos did it deliberately. Obviously, however, they remained interested in Henley (who has started all eight games this year and has participated in 89 percent of the snaps) at something less than the agreed terms.
The point is that this little-known ability to extend the trading period by giving the acquiring team the ability to use the physical to leverage better terms shouldn’t exist. When a deal is done at the deadline, the trade should either go through for the agreed terms or it shouldn’t.
It opens the door to gamesmanship. The team that has traded the player has no alternatives. It can’t trade the player to someone else. It either has to accept reduced terms or try to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
The Vikings, for example, could have tried to do that to the Raiders regarding quarterback Kirk Cousins. “Well, we found something in Kirk’s leg that we don’t like. We’re not comfortable giving up a third-round pick. How about a fifth-round pick instead?”
What would the Raiders have done at that point? They’d already turned the page to Fernando Mendoza, and they spent Tuesday and Wednesday getting him ready to play.
The rule needs to change. The ability to revisit trade terms after the deadline has passed should be eliminated. Either the deal gets done as negotiated, or it doesn’t.
Hovering over all of this is the subjectivity that can result in a team failing a player on a physical if it wants that outcome. It’s an easy way out for a team that has buyer’s remorse. (The Bengals, for example, could have determined that Eagles defensive end Arnold Ebiketie failed his physical, if the Bengals hadn’t realized until after the trade terms were finalized that the Bengals would lose a 2027 third-round compensatory pick if the trade became official.)
At some point, it makes sense for the physicals not to be conducted by team doctors but by an independent, unaffiliated physician. But that’s for another day. For now, the immediate problem that needs to be solved is the ability of teams to renegotiate trade terms after the trade deadline.
No one benefits from that, and unscrupulous teams could use it to their advantage.
When word emerged that the trade that would have sent linebacker Daiyan Henley from the Chargers to the Broncos was called off, no specific details were provided. Common sense pointed to a failed physical and, for a change, common sense was accurate.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Henley did indeed fail the physical in Denver.
It was, we’re told, a knee issue. Although Henley appeared on the Week 9 injury report with a shoulder problem, he was listed with a knee injury in Week 6.
Every trade hinges on the passing of a physical. The player rarely fails it. Still, when he does, the trade doesn’t happen.
The problem with eleventh-hour deadline deals that fall through is that the team that thought it was acquiring a new player now can’t pivot elsewhere.
Of course, there’s always the possibility that the Broncos got cold feet after committing a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick to the transaction. As everyone learned with the failed Maxx Crosby trade from the Raiders to the Ravens, the standards can shift from team to team.
Crosby, who stayed with the Raiders, has started all nine games — and he has been on the field for 89 percent of the snaps. Henley, who has started all eight Chargers games and played 87 percent of the snaps, presumably will return to action for the Chargers.
Just before Tuesday afternoon’s trade deadline, the Chargers agreed to trade linebacker Daiyan Henley to the Broncos. Late on Wednesday night, the trade was canceled.
Both the Chargers and the Broncos have announced that Henley will remain with the Chargers. Neither team explained why, but typically that would happen after the trade deadline only if the player failed his physical.
“The proposed trade involving Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley will not be finalized,” the Broncos said in a statement. “We have great respect for Daiyan as a player and person, and we wish him all the best moving forward.”
The Chargers posted “Welcome back, Daiyan” on social media, about 30 hours after posting, “Thank you, Daiyan” to officially announce the trade.
According to ESPN, Henley was at the Broncos’ facility on Wednesday and took a physical, so presumably the Broncos’ medical staff decided to nix the trade. Henley did suffer a shoulder injury in Week 8 against the Rams, but he was a full participant in practice the next week and played well in Week 9 against the Texans. There have been no indications that he has had any other health concerns.
The Broncos had agreed to send a 2027 fourth-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick to the Chargers for Henley, who is in the final year of his rookie contract and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
The last-place team in the AFC West is trading a player to the first-place team in the AFC West.
The Chargers have traded linebacker Daiyan Henley to the Broncos for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
For the Broncos, it’s an addition of a linebacker who has started every game but one for the Chargers over the last three seasons, and should be able to step in and contribute immediately in Denver.
For the Chargers, it’s an addition of two draft picks for a winless team that desperately needs to build for the future. Henley is in the final season of his rookie contract as a 2023 third-round pick and might have left the Chargers this offseason anyway. Now the Chargers are getting something for him.
Henley is a defensive captain, and there were reports that the Chargers weren’t looking to trade important players, but realistically, when you’re the worst team in the league, you’re going to trade players for picks if a good offer comes your way.
Some teams prefer not to trade with division rivals, but in this case, it’s a trade that should benefit both teams, so there’s no reason for both teams not to do it. And now Henley will attempt to win the AFC West this season, something he was not going to do in Los Angeles.
Denver was losing at the start of the fourth quarter in Carolina on Sunday, but that doesn’t much matter to Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
On back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter, Nix led a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive and a six-play, 61-yard touchdown drive, and the Broncos beat the Panthers. That has become the norm for Nix, who has a remarkable record of winning even when his team is losing in the fourth quarter.
Nix now has six game-winning drives this season, the most of any quarterback in the NFL. He also has 16 game-winning drives so far in his three-year career, which is the record for any quarterback in his first three seasons. (This is a regular-season statistic only, but Nix also had a game-winning drive in the playoffs last season.)
A game-winning drive is defined as an offensive scoring drive in the fourth quarter or overtime that puts a team ahead for the final time. Nix had three of them as a rookie in 2024, an NFL-high seven of them last year, and is now leading the league again with six game-winning drives already this year.
At 7-2, the Broncos currently lead the AFC West and appear set to compete for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff race. With big games coming for them, they’ve got a quarterback they know they can win with, even when they’re losing in the fourth quarter.
The trade chatter regarding Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has lasted for two weeks. It will last at least two more days.
The current belief in league circles is that the Colts will take the best offer that’s on the table as the deadline approaches at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Sure, the Colts would like to get as much as they can, ideally landing the same package the Panthers got from the 49ers for running back Christian McCaffrey. But the Colts are likely to take what they can get, with the market for Taylor set by the competition among the teams that make an offer.
Regardless, the 2-7 Colts are ready to sell. At this point, they should be ready to move anyone — and everyone. They’re hoping to stockpile draft picks for the next General Manager. The more picks that compile, the more attractive the job becomes.
So whether it’s the teams that have been linked to Taylor (Giants, Vikings, Seahawks, Broncos, Packers) or someone unexpected (like the 49ers), a trade is expected to happen before the clock strikes 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 10.
It is rarely pretty, but the Broncos keep finding ways to win.
The Broncos were outgained by the Panthers 353 to 303, went 2-for-4 in the red zone, including a red-zone interception. They still won their fifth consecutive game, beating Carolina 26-21 to move to 7-2. The Panthers are 3-5.
The Panthers led 14-13 into the fourth quarter, but the Broncos outscored them 13-0 before Carolina gave itself a chance for a comeback on Tetairoa McMillan’s 4-yard touchdown reception. The Broncos got the ball back with 2:59 left with a chance to run out the time, but on second down, Bo Nix’s pitch to Jonah Coleman was fumbled backward for a 12-yard loss.
That gave Carolina a chance to win it with 1:49 remaining.
The Panthers got 20 yards to the Denver 36 before Nik Bonitto had a strip-sack of Bryce Young that the edge rusher recovered with 1:18 left.
That gave Nix his 17th consecutive win in one-score games, the longest streak in the NFL since 1950.
Nix was 25-of-37 for 237 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Courtland Sutton caught a 3-yard score and Pat Bryant had a 26-yard touchdown reception. Coleman ran for a 9-yard touchdown.
Bryant caught four passes for 56 yards and Coleman had 17 runs for 57 yards.
The Panthers had 13 penalties for 119 yards, had two turnovers and Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 43-yard field goal.
Young was 28-of-39 for 276 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Chuba Hubbard had 16 carries for 79 yards and Darren Waller had eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
The Panthers lead the Broncos 14-13 after the first drive of the second half.
With an early 10-0 lead, it appeared Denver was on its way to a blowout. The Panthers, though, have scored 14 of the past 17 points.
Darren Waller caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young on third-and-9 with 11:30 left in the third quarter.
The Panthers took the second half kickoff 65 yards in six plays.
Waller had a 21-yard reception in the drive, and Broncos defenders Ja’Quan McMillian and Dondrea Tillman had 5-yard penalties for defensive holding and illegal use of hands, respectively.
The Broncos will play the second half without cornerback Riley Moss and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who are in concussion protocol.
The Broncos lead the Panthers 13-7 at halftime.
They could lead by more if not for Corey Thornton’s red-zone interception of Bo Nix in the second quarter. The Panthers were at the Carolina 19 when Nix tried to hit Courtland Sutton.
Denver went 47 yards in nine plays on its opening drive. The Broncos had first-and-goal from the 4 before a 1-yard run, an incompletion, a false start and an incompletion. They settled for Wil Lutz’s chip-shot 26-yard field goal.
The Broncos reached the end zone on their second possession, a 10-play, 81-yard drive that ended with Nix’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Sutton.
They ended the half with Lutz’s 48-yard field goal, which was set up by Ryan Fitzgerald’s kickoff out of bounds.
The Panthers could be even closer if not for Fitzgerald’s miss on a 43-yard field goal.
The Broncos have outgained the Panthers 159 to 148, with Nix going 15-of-23 for 125 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Evan Engram has three catches for 29 yards and J.K. Dobbins has three carries for 15 yards.
Bryce Young is 11-for-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown, a 10-yard throw to Tommy Tremble. Darren Waller has four catches for 39 yards and Chuba Hubbard has eight carries for 47 yards.
Broncos cornerback Riley Moss took a knee to the head from Trevor Etienne with 5:38 remaining in the second quarter. He appeared to have a fencing response, but walked under his own power to the training room to be evaluated for a concussion.
Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is also being evaluated for a concussion.
