Justin Herbert injured the middle finger on his left hand in Sunday’s loss to the Texans. Imaging showed the finger was not broken.
It would stand to reason that the Chargers quarterback would be on Thursday’s injury report, even if he was a full participant. He wasn’t.
The Chargers did have 18 players on their first report of the week ahead of Monday night’s game against the Ravens.
The team had nine players out of practice Thursday. Wide receiver Ladd McConkey (back), outside linebacker Khalil Mack (rest), linebacker Daiyan Henley (personal), defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe (ankle), offensive lineman Branson Taylor (ankle), wide receiver Brenen Thompson (hamstring), cornerback Isas Waxter (ankle) and safety Kendall Williamson (calf).
Offensive lineman Trey Pipkins III (personal/knee) also did not practice. He is in the second week of his return-to-practice window.
Offensive guard Kayode Awosika (fibula), wide receiver Tre’ Harris (shoulder), cornerback Cam Hart (ankle), running back Keaton Mitchell (hip), defensive back Deane Leonard (concussion), cornerback Rodney Shelley (calf) and offensive guard Alex Harkey (foot) were limited.
Tight end David Njoku (fibula) and linebacker Denzel Perryman (pectoral), both of whom had their 21-day practice window opened last week, were also limited Thursday.
Chargers Clips
Everyone on the Ravens’ active roster practiced on Thursday, but a handful of them were limited participants.
Wide receiver Rashod Bateman was part of that group. Bateman, who has 20 catches for 294 yards and a score on the season, is dealing with a calf injury ahead of Monday’s game against the Chargers.
Right guard Vega Ioane (knee, shoulder) and safety Jaylinn Hawkins (knee) were also limited. Hawkins did not play in last Thursday’s loss to the Jaguars due to his injury.
Running back Rasheen Ali (ankle), safety Kyle Hamilton (hip), tight end Matthew Hibner (hand), running back Adam Randall (neck, hamstring), and cornerback Nate Wiggins (illness) were all listed as full participants.
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.
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.
Don’t expect Philip Rivers to come out of retirement again this season. He’ll be busy.
Via ESPN, the NC State board of trustees is expected to finalize a contract that will make Rivers the next head coach of the Wolfpack.
Rivers played for NC State from 1999 through 2003. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft, technically of the Giants. He was traded to the Chargers (with Eli Manning going to New York), and Rivers played for the Chargers through 2019. He spent 2020 with the Colts, and he unexpectedly returned late in the 2025 season to play for the Colts again.
Rivers became a high-school coach in Alabama in 2021. He has never coached at the college or pro level, but he interviewed for the Bills’ head-coaching job.
It’s not known whether he still aspires to coach at the NFL level. As he gets experience at NC State — and if he does well — buzz could build for a shot with an NFL team.
For now, he’ll be returning to the place where he played college football. His name surfaced almost immediately after long-time coach Dave Doeren was fired last month. Along the way, NC State interviewed fellow former NC State quarterback (and NFL quarterback and current CBS analyst) Russell Wilson.
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.
The Vikings’ quarterback situation has been a rollercoaster with more lows than highs since Kirk Cousins left for the Falcons and Sam Darnold left for the Seahawks.
They’re expected to make their next attempt at fixing the situation on Tuesday.
A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Vikings will trade for a quarterback before Tuesday’s 4:00 p.m. ET deadline.
The options, per the source, are “Daniel Jones, Geno Smith, Mac Jones, Kirk Cousins, TBD surprise, TBD huge surprise, but it will be someone.”
Other possibilities mentioned by the source were Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston.
Whatever the Vikings do, it’s going to cost them. If they’d had a deal in place before Monday night’s game, it would have been cheaper. After last night’s debacle from Carson Wentz, teams will be putting their thumbs — and elbows — on the scale.
Regardless, they need to do something. If they don’t, 6-2 could become 6-11. And that would possibly result in a new coach in Minnesota come 2027.
In the categories of “surprise” and/or “huge surprise” would be (and this is just the throwing of a dart): Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, and Sam Darnold.
They did it in 2016, after Teddy Bridgewater suffered a season-ending knee injury in late August. They did it in 2023, after Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon.
They’re doing it today, in order to avoid having the season end at 6-11.
According to ESPNFL, the Vikings have begun making calls regarding a possible trade for a quarterback.
Of course they’re making calls. Coach Kevin O’Connell made that fairly clear last night. The real question is whether they can get a deal done.
They’re not operating from a position of strength, especially after a horrendous showing from Carson Wentz, whose passer rating against Buffalo was 8.9. The greater a team’s perceived need, the more the other team will want.
The Vikings’ best hope is to stumble into a situation where multiple teams are looking to unload a starter. By persuading one team that the Vikings will strike a deal with another team, the price could come down.
There aren’t many current starters who would even possibly be available. Two of them — Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins and Colts quarterback Daniel Jones — have experience in Minnesota. Others include, potentially, Jets quarterback Geno Smith and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Backups could be available. Mac Jones had been linked to Minnesota in the past. The 49ers would have to feel comfortable with the alternative to Mac Jones as the understudy to Brock Purdy. If a team trades its No. 2, it assumes the risk that the starter will get injured in the very next game.
That happened to the Steelers in 2019. They traded Josh Dobbs to the Jaguars after Nick Foles was injured in Week 1. In Week 2, the Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger for the year. Then came the Duck Hodges show.
At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether a quarterback upgrade will even matter for the Vikings. The flaws in the offense may run deeper than the quarterback position.
Still, it’s obvious that they need someone who can perform more efficiently than Kyler Murray or Carson Wentz, who in all fairness should be cut today.
And if the Vikings can’t upgrade at quarterback, they need to listen to offers for receiver Justin Jefferson. His prime is being wasted, and he surely would love to move on (even if he’d never say that out loud).
The last-ditch effort could be to sign Jimmy Garoppolo, who would likely be an instant upgrade to the very low bar that Minnesota’s current quarterbacks have established.
