The Denver Broncos announced late Wednesday evening that the Daiyan Henley trade has fallen through.
Denver initially agreed to trade two draft picks to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for Henley on Tuesday, but the deal was pending a physical. After that physical, the Broncos announced the trade would not be finalized.
Denver did not announce the reason for backing out of the trade, but the suspected cause has since been revealed: Henley failed his physical with the Broncos, KOA Radio's Brandon Krisztal reported Thursday morning.
When the NFL's transaction wire is released later today, the non-Henley trade will be designated as a failed physical, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
"This is a tough one, though, for both teams," Rapoport
said. "There's nothing nefarious. One team, obviously the Chargers, believed that Daiyan Henley was good enough to play, and he has been playing. The Denver Broncos, obviously, did not believe going forward that the physical was where it needed to be. You see this all the time with two teams, two doctors ... can disagree on an injury. Certainly, this can happen."
From @GMFB: The Daiyan Henley trade to the #Broncos is off because of what will be termed as a failed physical; Plus the #Giants get healthy for tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/hNBFK2ZV2V
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 12, 2026
Henley has appeared on L.A.'s injury report with knee and shoulder injuries this season.
With the trade called off, the Broncos get back the two draft picks they had agreed to trade, and they now have a little more cap space. Denver also has an open spot on the roster after cutting a cornerback to make room for Henley on Tuesday.
Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad remain the Broncos' top linebackers with Karene Reid and Jordan Turner providing depth behind them.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Why did the Broncos back out of Daiyan Henley trade? Reason revealed
