When the Denver Broncos agreed to trade fourth- and fifth-round draft picks to the Los Angeles Chargers for linebacker Daiyan Henley on Tuesday, the trade was announced as pending a physical examination.
During the physical, the Broncos discovered arthritis in Henley's knee, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com
. Denver then went back to the Chargers and attempted to change the trade terms based on the physical results.L.A. did not agree to change the terms, and the trade fell through. One day later, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said the NFL should look into the "loophole" the Broncos used that "sets a bad precedent."
Denver's unlikely to face much (if any) scrutiny from the league, though.
The NFL was consulted and approved of the Broncos
asking to revise the trade terms, according to the Denver Post's Parker Gabriel. Such a scenario has happened before, and the information the Chargers provided before the trade "did not match" what the Denver found during the physical, according to Gabriel.
Per source, the league was consulted + approved of the #Broncos asking to revisit the comp. It's happened before. The information the Chargers provided before the trade did not match what the Denver found during the physical, source said, so the club attempted to revisit the… https://t.co/UnuUOcj71y
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) November 12, 2026
The Broncos were allowed to attempt to change the trade terms after Henley's physical. Whether or not that's a "loophole" that shouldn't exist is up for debate. The league might consider changing that "loophole" in the future, but Denver's handling of the situation was apparently condoned by the league.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL knew and approved of Broncos attempting to change Daiyan Henley trade
