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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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The Denver Broncos wanted linebacker Daiyan Henley for their playoff push.
Instead, their failed trade with the Los Angeles Chargers could end up changing the NFL’s rules.
Ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Chargers agreed to send Henley to the division rival Broncos for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, pending a physical. But the Broncos found an issue with one of Henley’s knees on Wednesday.
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After checking with the league, they tried to rework the compensation.
Denver offered either a fourth and a seventh-round pick or a fourth and another pick swap, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Chargers said no, and the deal was dead.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t hold back about how the situation went down.
“That’s why it’s a loophole, and teams should not have the ability to do that,” Harbaugh told reporters Thursday. “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. They would not pass them for that. They would pass him for a fourth and a fill-in-the-blank.”
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He isn’t the only one upset. Multiple GMs told The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero that the league and the competition committee should reexamine teams’ ability to renegotiate trade terms once the deadline passes.
“Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t the only one questioning a ‘loophole’ in NFL rules after the aborted Daiyan Henley trade,” Pelissero wrote. “Multiple GMs I spoke with agreed the league and the competition committee should reexamine teams’ ability to renegotiate trade terms once the deadline passes, arguing a team could abuse the system.
“… Other GMs can foresee this particular situation being abused. What if a team overbids on a player solely to block another team from getting him, then pulls the plug after the deadline passes? What if a team uses the deadline to leverage better trade terms, boxing in a team that wants to maximize value for the player and is instead left with nothing if they don’t accept the reduced offer?”
Pelissero did make it clear the Broncos were within their rights, and there’s “no reason to believe they acted in bad faith.” Denver’s doctors had concerns about Henley’s long-term durability, and outside medical opinions backed them up.
It’s not the first time this has happened either. The Detroit Lions reworked their trade with the New York Jets for safety Andre Cisco, sending a 2029 sixth-round pick rather than the 2028 sixth-rounder originally listed. That deal was agreed to on Monday, which gave the teams time to fix it before the deadline.
Whether or not teams should be allowed to change the trade terms after the fact could be looked into soon when teams and the competition committee craft potential rule changes for 2027.
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