The trade deadline is the trade deadline. Except when it’s not the trade deadline.
The strange situation involving the failed trade of Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley to the Broncos reveals a major flaw in the NFL’s deadline machinery.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided the details (which we have confirmed to be accurate) in the most nonchalant and innocuous terms possible: “It is not uncommon for one team to have medical concerns regarding a player while another does not. In this case, Denver had concerns about Henley following his medical. Even then, the Broncos still wanted Henley with Denver and Los Angeles to discuss revised trade alternatives throughout the day, taking those concerns into account. Ultimately, no deal was reached.
Here’s what that means. The Chargers and Broncos reached an agreement for Henley and independently communicated terms to the NFL ahead of the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline on Tuesday, November 10. Like all trades, the Henley deal was contingent on the player passing a medical.
The Broncos discovered a problem with Henley’s knee. We are told he suffers from arthritis. (As a source from neither the Chargers nor the Broncos told PFT, most, if not all, starting linebackers in the NFL suffer from some degree of arthritis in their knees.)
The NFL allows trade terms to be revised after the deadline to some extent. According to a league spokesperson: “We would allow them to change the pick compensation. They would not be able to add a player or trade another player.”
Instead of concluding the physical had failed and voiding the deal (as the Ravens did with the trade for Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby in March), the Broncos were willing to proceed with revised terms. In other words, for less than a fourth-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2028, they would still get the deal done.
This is not how things should work after the deadline. The window closed. Deals are done, or they aren’t. After 4 p.m. ET on November 10, the only question left to answer is whether the player passes or fails the physical exam.
As one source explained, deadline deals have been made in the past with terms that were revised after the deadline.
According to Schefter’s report, that’s what happened here. The Broncos had “medical concerns,” but not enough to reject the player. The Broncos and Chargers discussed “revised trade alternatives” on Wednesday – the day after the trading window ended.
The Chargers could have taken less to get the deal done. They chose not to. The fact that the rules allow trade terms to be renegotiated after the deadline opened the door for the Broncos to squeeze the Chargers.
The situation creates an opportunity for shenanigans. If, for example, Team A prepares to trade a player to Team B at the deadline for a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick, Team C can step in and offer a fourth-round pick and a fifth-round pick. Then, when the physical is done after the deadline, Team C can say, “Well, we have some medical issues. If we don’t agree to reduce the package to a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick, we’re going to fail the player on his physical.”
That’s not to say the Broncos did this deliberately. Clearly, however, they remained interested in Henley (who started all eight games this year and participated in 89 percent of the snaps) at a price lower than the agreed terms.
The fact is that this little-known ability to extend the negotiation period by giving the acquiring team the opportunity to use physicality to take advantage of better terms should not exist. When an agreement is reached by the deadline, the exchange must be concluded on the agreed or unagreed terms.
This opens the door to play. The team that traded the player has no alternative. He cannot swap the player with anyone else. He must either accept reduced conditions or try to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
The Vikings, for example, could have tried to do this to the Raiders regarding quarterback Kirk Cousins. “Well, we found something in Kirk’s leg that we don’t like. We’re not comfortable giving up a third-round pick. How about a fifth-round pick instead?”
What would the Raiders have done at that point? They had already moved on from Fernando Mendoza and spent Tuesday and Wednesday preparing him to play.
The rule must change. The possibility of reviewing commercial conditions once the deadline has passed should be removed. Either the deal goes through as negotiated or it doesn’t happen.
Above all of this is the subjectivity that can cause a team to fail a player on a physical level if they want that outcome. It’s an easy way out for a team with buyer’s remorse. (The Bengals, for example, could have determined that Eagles defensive end Arnold Ebiketie had failed his physical, if the Bengals had only realized after trade terms were finalized that they would lose a compensatory third-round pick in 2027 if the trade became official.)
At some point, it makes sense for medical exams not to be performed by team physicians but by an independent, unaffiliated physician. But that’s for another day. For now, the immediate issue at hand is the teams’ ability to renegotiate trade terms after the trade deadline.
Nobody benefits from this and unscrupulous teams could take advantage of this to their advantage.
Gn sports
