The Denver Broncos are catching a lot of heat from the way they handled the Daiyan Henley almost-trade over the past couple of days.
Having previously agreed to sign the LA Chargers off-the-ball linebacker for fourth and fifth round pick. Bu after the Broncos discovered arthritis in Henley’s knee, the team decided that they wanted to reduce the compensation offered, leading to the Chargers nixing the trade altogether.
Many in the media – as well as to Chargers head coach Jim Harbuagh – were critical of the Broncos doing such a move and believe that the NFL should change the rules to prevent teams being able to strong-arm other franchises if they find any sort of medical issues with a player who is the subject of a pending trade.
Broncos
Others, however, have defended the team’s conduct in the face of the belief and allegations that the Broncos were trying to “squeeze” their division rivals.
Broncos Reporter Defends Team Conduct After Failed Physical
“Jim Harbaugh overlooked several key points:” Mike Klis of 9News posted on X after Jim Harbaugh’s press conference in which the former Michigan HC called for the league to make adjustments.
“1. per league source it was only after Henley flunked his physical – in which several medical opinions were sought – Broncos got NFL involved and received confirmation it was OK to revisit the compensation as there is precedent for these situations.”
Klis also notes that LA did not take Denver’s post-physical concerns seriously and that the medical information discovered by the Broncos was not the same as that which the Chargers provided.
“2. Per source, Chargers brushed off Broncos concerns after Henley physical, which did not match information the Chargers shared with the Broncos prior to trade.” Klis continued.
Klis argues that instead of completely moving off the Henley move, one which he believes was a multi-year play despite the former third round pick being in the final year of his rookie deal, Broncos GM George Paton was attempting to make the best of tough circumstances.
“3. Broncos were making trade in which they gave up decent compensation with long-term view of the player (Henley was not considered a short-term rental, therefore when new information was found about his condition, Broncos sought to adjust value they assigned to Henley.)
4. Regardless of compensation it was well within Broncos rights to simply flunk him on physical and move on. Instead GM George Paton tried to find a solution for a difficult situation. Again, within the Broncos rights and the NFL aware every step.”
Does it Make Sense to Re-Negotiate Compensation After a Trade?
From a valuation perspective, it makes sense that if a player has a portion of his medical flagged without it being immediately damaging, his value would immediately decrease, but not completely disappear.
So with a linebacker with arthritis in his right knee, the argument would be that he is perhaps worth 15-20% less in a deal than he would otherwise be without it.
One pushback would be that that, per a source quoted by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, “most if not all starting linebackers in the NFL have some degree of arthritis in their knees.” But the degree to which Henley’s arthritis was apparent or advanced could have been more severe than most.
Ultimately, Henley will stay on the Chargers until the end of the season, and the Broncos will continue to rely on Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad at the heart of their 3-4 defense.
Broncos Reporter Defends Team in Daiyan Henley Trade Mishap