Jim Harbaugh accuses Broncos of using Henley’s physical to lower trade price

Jim Harbaugh isn't letting the failed Daiyan Henley trade go quietly, saying the Broncos used the linebacker's physical to try to pay less for him

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Nov 12, 2026, 3:13 PM

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Watch: Mike Klis breadown: What really happened with the Broncos' failed Daiyan Henley trade? | 10 mins

Jim Harbaugh isn’t letting the failed Daiyan Henley trade go quietly.

The Los Angeles Chargers coach said Thursday that the Denver Broncos used the linebacker’s physical to try to pay less for him after the two teams had already agreed on the price.

“The Broncos based a pass-fail on a medical grade, based on whether we would take less compensation, and we wouldn’t, and we didn’t,” Harbaugh said, according to The Athletic.

The teams agreed Tuesday to send Henley to Denver for a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, pending a physical. Late Wednesday, the Broncos announced on social media that the “proposed trade will not be finalized.” Henley is back with the 0-8 Chargers.

Harbaugh said the problem was never really medical.

“It’s a pass-fail for a medical grade,” Harbaugh said. “They told us they weren’t going to pass him if it was a fourth and a fifth, which was agreed upon, and they would not pass him for that. They would pass him for a fourth and a … fill in the blank. I don’t know what to call that.”

The Broncos see it differently. A source told The Denver Post that the medical information the Chargers provided before the trade didn’t match what Denver found during Henley’s physical, so the Broncos tried to revisit the compensation. The source said the league was consulted and approved Denver’s request, and that it has happened before.

Pro Football Talk reported the Broncos found arthritis in Henley’s knee. A source with neither team told PFT that most, if not all, starting linebackers in the NFL have some degree of arthritis in their knees.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday that Denver “still wanted” Henley, and the teams spent Wednesday discussing revised terms. They couldn’t agree.

Harbaugh said the rules shouldn’t allow a team to renegotiate a deal through a physical.

“In my opinion, it’s one of those loopholes that the league should really look into because it sets a bad precedent, continues to set a bad precedent,” Harbaugh said. “Really, it shouldn’t be (a loophole), but apparently it is. That’s why it’s a loophole, and teams should not have the ability to do that.”

He added: “Medical grades should be based on pass/fail, what the medical grade is, not being used by an organization to get less compensation for a trade that was agreed upon.”

PFT’s Mike Florio made a similar argument earlier Thursday, writing that when a deal is done at the deadline, “the trade should either go through for the agreed terms or it shouldn’t.”

So the Broncos pass the trade deadline with no deals made and an AFC West rival ticked off at them.