Report: Broncos ‘still wanted’ Daiyan Henley but couldn’t reach deal with Chargers

The Denver Broncos deal for Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley is off.

That was the shocking headline late Wednesday night, with the Broncos announcing on social media that the “proposed trade will not be finalized.”

Immediately, questions and speculation began. Why wouldn’t Henley be coming to Denver? Did he fail his physical?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided some more context on Thursday morning. You may have to open Schefter’s post on X to see the full thing.

Some context on the Daiyan Henley trade that did not go through between the Broncos and Chargers, per sources.

It is not uncommon for one team to have some medical concerns about a player while another does not. In this case, Denver had concerns about Henley following his… pic.twitter.com/y97Ly3CSn9

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 12, 2026

The trade was announced on Tuesday as “pending a physical” and clearly that didn’t go well once Henley was inside the building at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit.

But it sounds like Denver head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton kept trying to push the deal through, perhaps with revised terms on draft compensation.

“The Broncos still wanted Henley with Denver and LA discussing revised trade alternatives throughout the day, taking into account those concerns. In the end, no agreement was reached. The deal was off,” Schefter concluded.

In the original trade, Denver was willing to give up a fourth-round draft pick in 2027 and a fifth-round choice in 2028. After their concerns with the physical, the price likely dropped.

The Chargers and Broncos couldn’t agree on new terms and Henley heads back to L.A. while Denver is left with questionable inside linebacker depth behind starters Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad.

Payton and Paton have not met with the media this week since the team is on a bye, so we probably won’t get further answers until next Monday when Payton holds a conference call.

Stay tuned, but there’s no other way to slice it — this is disappointing for the Broncos, the fans and Henley who goes from a 7-2 Denver team back to an 0-8 L.A. squad.

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