The NFL Let Denver Reopen a Finished Trade. Jim Harbaugh Is Right That the Rule Is Broken.
Jim Harbaugh stood at a podium in El Segundo on Thursday and accused the Denver Broncos of grading a physical against pick value instead of against a knee. He is right about what happened, and he is right that the league should close the gap that let it happen.
“The Broncos based a pass-fail on a medical grade, based on whether we would take less compensation,” Harbaugh said. “And in my opinion it’s one of those loopholes that the league should really look into, because it sets a bad precedent and it continues to set a bad precedent.”
What Actually Happened
The Chargers agreed to send linebacker Daiyan Henley to Denver for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, pending a physical. Reports differ on whether the handshake came Monday or roughly an hour before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.
Henley took the physical Wednesday. Denver did not like what it found in his knee, and a league source cited by The Athletic said Denver’s evaluation did not match the information the Chargers had provided. Mike Florio reported the finding as arthritis, which remains a single-source detail with no team confirmation.
Denver then came back with revised terms: the same fourth-rounder plus a seventh, or the fourth plus a pick swap. Los Angeles said no. At 10:22 p.m. Wednesday the Broncos posted a two-sentence statement saying the trade “will not be finalized,” with no reason given and no mention of a physical.
Nobody Broke a Rule, and That Is the Problem
This is where it gets uncomfortable for everyone shouting about it. A league spokesperson told Pro Football Talk the NFL signed off: “We would permit them to change the pick compensation. They would not be able to add a player or trade a different player.” A league source said Denver checked with the NFL on Wednesday and was cleared to revisit terms based on precedent.
Mike Klis of 9NEWS put the Broncos’ position bluntly. “Regardless of compensation, it was well within Broncos rights to simply flunk him on physical and move on,” he wrote.
No investigation has been opened. No named source has alleged a violation. Sean Payton was not scheduled to speak with Denver reporters until Monday, so the Broncos have said nothing beyond that statement. Harbaugh never used the word investigation either. He said the league should “look into” the loophole and that teams “should not have the ability to do that.”
Harbaugh Is Right Anyway
A trade deadline that can be reopened after the deadline is not much of a deadline. If a medical grade can be priced against draft capital, every deadline deal becomes a two-stage negotiation, and the second stage happens with no clock and all the leverage on one side.
Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz told the AP he has already talked to the league about it and expects teams to propose closing the gap at the March meetings. That is the right venue, and it is four months late.
Hortiz says he disclosed Henley’s physical issues before terms were agreed. The league source via The Athletic says Denver’s findings did not match what it was told. Somebody is wrong, and nobody with a name will say who.
The Player Is the One Who Paid
Henley is 26, turns 27 next week, and is a fourth-year linebacker drafted in the third round out of Washington State in 2023. He leads the Chargers with 51 tackles in eight starts, with an interception, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He is in the final year of a four-year, $5.4 million rookie deal and hits unrestricted free agency after the season.
He got traded, failed a physical for a knee he has played through all year, and flew back to a 0-8 team. “He was welcomed back with open arms,” Harbaugh said.
Denver is 7-2 and leading the AFC West. Los Angeles is the only winless team in football and plays at Baltimore on Monday night. One of those teams is going to the playoffs. The other one just learned that an agreed deal is only agreed until the other side gets its hands on a medical chart.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
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