Harbaugh Accuses Broncos Of Using Loophole In Henley Trade

The  Denver Broncos’ attempt to trade for Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley fell through due to issues with the linebacker’s knee, but Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh is accusing the Broncos of using a loophole to try to renegotiate the terms of the deal, according to a report from Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk and multiple other outlets. 

The Broncos agreed  to trade a fourth-round pick and a fifth-round pick for Henley, then told Chargers GM Joe Hortiz they couldn’t go through with it because Henley’s physical raised concerns about his knee. The Broncos were still willing to trade for Henley, but wanted to give up less. 

Harbaugh believes physical exams should only be to determine whether or not the player is healthy, not to renegotiate trade terms. He says the medical part of the deal for the Broncos was about Henley having what he called a “pass/fail grade,” and Denver then used a failing grade to try to renegotiate the terms of the deal and give up less. 

“We wouldn’t and we didn’t,” the Chargers coach added about the effort to set new terms. 

Harbaugh thinks the Broncos shouldn’t be able to renegotiate the terms of the deal, “but apparently it is. 

“That’s why it’s a loophole, and teams should not have the ability to do that,” he said. 

Harbaugh’s not wrong about this, and in many ways something like this now feels inevitable. The Las Vegas Raiders feel like the Baltimore Ravens did them dirty when they backed out of the trade involving defensive end Maxx Crosby due to his medicals, and while there was no attempt to renegotiate the deal, it opened the deal for this situation to happen. 

The Broncos will almost certainly respond to this situation very soon, and it will be interesting to see if the NFL sees this as a “loophole” or a part of the trade deadline process. It does feel like there needs to be some kind of clarification that makes the process a little more precise. 

Denver certainly doesn’t benefit from this process given that the Chargers turned them down, but depending on their response and the justification, it doesn’t make them look good. The specifics of the medicals reportedly had Henley with significant arthritis in the knee that was responsible for the failing grade, but other reports have said that nearly all  NFL linebackers have some amount of arthritis in their knees as wear and tear accumulates.

It’s especially spicy given the interdivision nature of the trade, so the back and forth in the next day or two should be especially entertaining. The two teams play again in Week 18.