As it turns out, there will be two deadline-day trades called off. The Broncos will not be landing Daiyan Henley from the Chargers. Denver announced the nixed the trade agreement — which comes a day after the Bengals and Eagles’ deal for Arnold Ebiketie fell apart — late Wednesday night.
The Broncos and Bolts had an agreement that would have sent Henley to Denver in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder. These deals are pending physicals. It is certainly possible Broncos medical personnel did not like what they saw, but no reason for the trade’s cancellation has surfaced.
Henley was in the Broncos’ facility Wednesday, the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel reports, confirming the Broncos called off the deal. This certainly points to an issue with the four-year veteran’s physical, which was slated to take place Wednesday.
A 2023 third-round pick, Henley is a Los Angeles native in a contract year. He will now be tied to the Chargers once again, being set up to continue with the 0-8 team. The team’s hesitancy to sell drew considerable scrutiny leading up to the deadline, and while their stance appeared to shift just before the deadline, the Henley pact falling through will lead to the cellar-dwelling team collecting no assets for walk-year talent. Henley will join Khalil Mack and Donte Jackson as contract-year defenders not moved from a sinking team.
While a report emerged shortly before the deadline the Bolts were reluctant to part with Henley — a player viewed as a post-2026 piece — The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero indicates multiple offers came in for the Washington State product. Teams do not regularly trade within the division, making Henley’s move to Denver surprising. But collecting fourth- and fifth-round picks for a player who could hit the market in March represented solid value. Henley, 27 next week, will aim to bolster his value in Los Angeles’ defensive system — rather than Vance Joseph’s — the rest of the way.
Henley played through a torn labrum during the 2024 season, undergoing surgery in 2025, but did not miss a start in either year (beyond Jim Harbaugh sitting a handful of regulars for a Week 18 game in Denver last season). He had popped up on L.A.’s injury report for a shoulder issue last week, however. Henley logged a limited practice and two full workouts heading into the Bolts’ Week 9 game. Though Henley was also on the team’s injury report for a knee issue in Week 6, he did not miss a game due to either issue this season and has not missed a game due to injury since becoming a starter.
The Broncos will continue with their Alex Singleton–Justin Strnad setup at inside linebacker. Denver re-signed Singleton and Strnad this offseason, cutting Dre Greenlaw after an injury-plagued 2025 season. The Broncos had hoped Greenlaw would become a better coverage presence compared to what they had, but the three-year, $31.5MM deal did not yield much of consequence. More than 18 months later, the Broncos will continue to lean on their holdover duo.
The Broncos are thin at ILB behind their starters, rostering 2025 UDFAs Jordan Turner and Karene Reid as second-stringers. Henley would have provided high-end depth (or relegated Strnad to such status). The Broncos will have limited options in free agency should they choose to add another veteran at the position.
Henley has operated as a full-time Chargers starter for the past three seasons, moving up from the special teams ranks in Brandon Staley’s final year. His 51 tackles pace the Bolts this season, and he led the team in stops in 2024 (147) and ’25 (103) as well. Henley only has two tackles for loss this season; he combined for 12 from 2024-25.
While the Bengals-Eagles’ Ebiketie trade looked to be scrapped because of a potential snafu involving a 2027 compensatory pick, this AFC West chapter may be similar to the Ravens and Raiders’ highly publicized Maxx Crosby failed trade. Baltimore’s medical staff expressed issues with Crosby’s knee, with a long-term angle believed to be (somewhat controversially) the cause of the Ravens’ decision to back out.
The Broncos would have only had Henley contracted through season’s end, as opposed to the long-term Crosby commitment the Ravens were prepared to make, but they would have held exclusive negotiating rights with him until the 2027 legal tampering period had this trade gone through. This will certainly come up when the Broncos and Chargers meet again to close the regular season in Denver.
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