Yesterday, the Denver Broncos made a splash prior to the NFL trade deadline acquiring Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley for a 2027 fourth-round draft selection and a 2028 fifth-round draft selection.
It was a mild surprise for Broncos Country. While fans certainly have wanted to see some changes at inside linebacker the past few offseasons, fans didn’t necessarily peg it as one of the positions the Broncos were going to be aggressive finding an addition to help them in the second half
of the season.
This morning, Spotrac reports the Broncos have converted a portion of safety Talanoa Hufanga’s 2026 base salary into a signing bonus. In turn, the Broncos will save nearly $4 million against the cap this season. However, the restructure does change the math on Hufanga’s future cap hits, which includes a staggering $14.8 million in dead money for the 2028 season.
Why the Broncos chose to do this remains a mystery. I’d have to assume at some point in time they give Hufanga an extension. That’s a lot of dead money to have to deal with in 2028 if they can’t come to a future agreement. With acquiring Henley, the Broncos will be taking on around $1.8 million in his salary for the rest of the season. However, this could signal they have something else in the works with another in-house player.
Last season, Denver opted to extend Wil Lutz, Malcolm Roach, and Luke Wattenberg around their bye week in November. Perhaps this season, the Broncos could be looking to do the same. Henley is in the final year of his contract. With that in mind, he could potentially be one of those players. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a cornerback like Ja’Quan McMillian potentially earn a well-deserved extension.
What do you think, Broncos Country? Do you believe the Broncos will end up rewarding one of their own with a big contract extension over the bye week? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
