Shades of Maxx Crosby, Inside Broncos-Chargers Failed Daiyan Henley Trade Detailed in New NFL Rumors

Daiyan Henley was already in Denver when the trade between the Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers was called off.

According to The Athletic's Jonathan Jones, Henley had already met with general manager George Paton, toured the facility and begun reviewing the Broncos' defensive playbook when Denver backed out of the deal.

Jones also noted that the linebacker has a known knee injury, though it hasn't required surgery or kept him out of games. Jones added, however, that "the medical information the Broncos received did not match what they were learning in real-time after consulting with their own medical team and an independent doctor," similar to the nixed trade between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens for Maxx Crosby over the offseason.

The called-off deal between the Chargers and Broncos, which came after a handful of other nixed deals, could lead to "conversations with the league and competition committee about changes to the rules," according to Jones.

Tom Pelissero of The Ringer added more context about possible changes after the season:

"Multiple GMs I spoke with agreed the league and the competition committee should reexamine teams' ability to renegotiate trade terms once the deadline passes, arguing a team could abuse the system," he reported.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh called out the Broncos following the trade, saying the "loophole" that allowed them to back out of the trade should be looked into.

"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 told reporters Thursday. "In my opinion, it's one of those loopholes that the league should really look into because it sets a bad precedent and continues to set a bad precedent."

"It's a loophole and teams should not have the ability to do that," he added. "It's a medical grade, it's a pass/fail for a medical grade. They told us they weren't gonna 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 fill in the blank. I don't know what to call that, but that's what it is."

While the Chargers weren't sellers at the deadline despite their disastrous start to the season, Jones noted that they were willing to trade their team captain to the Broncos with the "hope that they could actually re-sign him come March." Henley, 26, will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Ultimately, they'll keep Henley around for the remainder of the year at least, albeit at the expense of losing some draft capital from the Broncos backing out of the deal.