The Denver Broncos backed out of the trade for Daiyan Henley, and the reason behind their decision has now been revealed. We also now know that the two sides did not immediately squash their agreement.
“They had the physical, and Daiyan Henley has been on the injury floor with a knee injury for the last several weeks. When he got in there, when he was in the Broncos building, it was fine. Everything went well. They just weren’t quite sure about the knee, where it stood. They had some questions about it,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on “Good Morning Football” on November 12.
“They went back to the Chargers, and really tried to figure out a way to make this deal work. Instead of a future 5[th-round pick], was it going to be a pick swap? A 5, maybe you get another draft pick back. Tried to figure out a way to make it work with different draft compensation. It sounds like that really was just not going to work.”
The Broncos initially sent a 2027 fourth-round pick along with a 2028 fifth-rounder to the Chargers for Henley.
The Denver Post’s Sam Jane bullet-pointed Henley’s injury history.
- Knee in W6. LP all week but played
- Shoulder in W9: No injury designation before game
- Calf in W13, 2024: Played
- W1-W3, 2023: Missed 2 games with hamstring
- Season-ending knee injury in 2019
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio corroborated that reporting with his own, and pondered if the Broncos “got cold feet after committing a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick to the transaction. As everyone learned with the failed Maxx Crosby trade from the Raiders to the Ravens, the standards can shift from team to team.”
Broncos-Chargers Both Backed Out of Daiyan Henley Trade
The Cincinnati Bengals also called off a trade before the 2026 deadline, changing their mind on acquiring Arnold Ebiketie from the Philadelphia Eagles over compensatory pick. However, neither that nor Florio’s reason appear to have been the case for the Broncos with Henley.
Instead, the injury altered what the Broncos were willing to part with, and LA did not budge.
“Part of the reason was because the Chargers never really wanted to trade Daiyan Henley. They got an offer from the Broncos that they couldn’t refuse,” Rapoport said.
“They took it, but they like him. He is a good young player. If he went to the Broncos, they would have tried to re-sign him in the offseason anyway, because he was going to be a free agent. So now, Daiyan Henley goes back to the Los Angeles Chargers.”
For his part, Henley expressed confusion over the deal falling apart, while teammate Tony Jefferson–who lamented the deadline deal–joked about having to get the LB back in LA.
“Broncos get back 2027 4th-round pick and 2028 5th-round pick. They get back $1.83 million in 2026 salary cap space,” The Broncos Wire’s Jon Heath posted on X on November 11. “Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad remain top inside linebackers with Karene Reid and Jordan Turner behind them.
“Denver has one open active roster spot.”
Insider Reveals Reason Broncos Backed Out of Daiyan Henley Trade With Chargers