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.
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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.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert underwent imaging on his injured left middle finger, and coach Jim Harbaugh said the tests came back negative for a fracture.
“So he should be good to go,” Harbaugh said Monday, via the Associated Press.
Herbert injured his non-throwing hand on a sack by Logan Hall when the quarterback tried to stiff-arm the defensive lineman with 14:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. Herbert, who was sacked eight times in the 44-22 loss, threw a touchdown pass two plays later.
Herbert had his left hand surgically repaired during the 2025 season after breaking a bone in the back of the hand during a Week 13 game. He played through the injury and expects to play through his current injury, he said postgame.
The Chargers, who play the Ravens on Monday Night Football in Week 10, have lost 11 consecutive games.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert left Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter.
The game was out of hand, but the bigger issue is Herbert’s hand.
Coach Jim Harbaugh said postgame that he made the decision to pull Herbert after an injury to Herbert’s left middle finger.
“It could be a fracture,” Harbaugh said, via Alex Insdorf of Bolt Breakdowns. “We’ll find out.”
Herbert appeared to injure his non-throwing hand on a sack by Logan Hall when the quarterback tried to stiff-arm the defensive lineman with 14:12 remaining. Herbert, who was sacked eight times in the 44-22 loss, threw a touchdown pass two plays later.
Harbaugh said Herbert wanted to stay in the game.
Herbert had his left hand surgically repaired during the 2025 season after breaking a bone in the back of the hand during a Week 13 game. He played through the injury and expects to play through his current injury.
“I’ll do whatever I can to make sure I’m 100 percent,” Herbert said after the game.
Herbert will undergo further testing on Monday.
The Texans might not be back, considering it was the Chargers they blew out, but they can’t be counted out just yet either.
Houston routed the Chargers 44-22 in a game that wasn’t that close.
The Texans have won three of their last four games, and they have the Browns, Colts and Ravens in their next three games. After beginning the season 0-4, Houston is 3-5. The Chargers fell to 0-8 and remain on track for the No.1 overall pick.
C.J. Stroud threw for 384 yards and five touchdowns, a 17-yarder to Xavier Hutchinson, a 63-yarder to Tank Dell, a 12-yarder to Kayshon Boutte, a 13-yarder to Nico Collins and a 63-yarder to Boutte. Boutte caught four passes for 125 yards, and Dell added four catches for 105 yards with the touchdown his first since December 2024.
Woody Marks ran 18 times for 70 yards.
The Texans outgained the Chargers 485 to 315.
Houston sacked Justin Herbert eight times, with Will Anderson, Sheldon Rankins and Jadeveon Clowney each collecting two sacks. Herbert injured the middle finger on his left hand on a sack by Logan Hall in the fourth quarter.
Herbert was 13-of-23 for 193 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Keaton Mitchell lost a fumble.
Herbert stayed in after his hand injury and threw a 58-yard touchdown to Quentin Johnston, ending a streak of 38 possessions without a touchdown. The Chargers’ previous touchdown came with 57 seconds left in the third quarter against the Broncos on Oct. 11 when Kimani Vidal scored on a 42-yard run in the 23-17 loss to Denver.
Ladd McConkey had back spasms in pregame warmups and didn’t play.
Justin Herbert took eight sacks on Sunday, with Sheldon Rankins, Jadeveon Clowney and Will Anderson contributing two each. It was a sack by Logan Hall with 14:12 remaining that the Chargers quarterback appeared to injure the middle finger on his left hand.
Herbert gave a stiff arm to Hall as he tried to get away before the 8-yard sack.
He got up looking at his left hand, which he had surgerically repaired in 2025 after breaking a bone in the back of his hand during a Week 13 game.
Herbert stayed in and threw a 58-yard touchdown to Quentin Johnston two plays later, ending a streak of 38 possessions without a touchdown. Their previous touchdown came with 57 seconds left in the third quarter against the Broncos on Oct. 11 when Kimani Vidal scored on a 42-yard run in the 23-17 loss to Denver.
Herbert did not return on the next possession, though.
He went to the sideline medical tent and emerged with a glove on his left hand, and, it appeared, a splint on his middle finger.
The Chargers did not provide an update on his injury, so it’s unclear whether Herbert left with his injury or because the Chargers were losing 41-15.
DJ Uiagalelei threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Derius Davis with 4:19 left.
The streak is over.
The Chargers went 37 possessions without a touchdown before Quentin Johnston scored on a 58-yard reception from Justin Herbert. It was the longest touchdown-less streak for a team — by possessions — since the 2024 Dolphins.
The Chargers trail the Texans 38-15 with 12:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Their previous touchdown came with 57 seconds left in the third quarter against the Broncos on Oct. 11 when Kimani Vidal scored on a 42-yard run in the 23-17 loss to Denver.
Herbert is 13-of-23 for 193 yards with a touchdown and an interception today.
The Texans have outgained the Chargers 460 to 240, with C.J. Stroud doing 21-of-34 for 384 yards with five touchdowns and an interception.
