In the end, the Chargers didn’t trade quarterback Justin Herbert. They didn’t trade outside linebacker Khalil Mack or wide receiver Ladd McConkey. But they did trade their best tackler, a linchpin of their defense, to an AFC West rival before Tuesday’s NFL deadline.
The Chargers sent linebacker Daiyan Henley, their leading tackler for three consecutive seasons, to the Denver Broncos in exchange for two draft picks. The Chargers (0-8) received a fourth-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-round selection in 2028 from the Broncos (7-2).
ESPN was the first to report the trade, citing unnamed sources.
The Chargers formally announced the deal about an hour after the 1 p.m. (PST) deadline.
In the days leading up to the deadline, it didn’t seem the Chargers would be sellers, preferring to fight through what appeared to outsiders to be a lost season. It also didn’t seem likely they would be buyers since no team in league history with an 0-8 record had made the playoffs.
But by the deadline, it was apparent that they were sellers, after all.
General Manager Joe Hortiz is set to speak with reporters on Thursday.
“We’ve been talking about making the team better now or in the future or both,” Harbaugh said Monday of pre-deadline conversations with Hortiz. “That’s always the conversation. A couple of them (potential trades) have been brought up that haven’t made sense to him and couldn’t make any sense to me, either. Yeah, he’s shared (various scenarios).”
Henley was a third-round draft pick in 2023, but he hardly saw the field because of nagging injuries in his rookie season. He thrived after Harbaugh was hired to replace Brandon Staley as the Chargers’ coach in January 2024. He had 142 tackles in 2024, 101 last season and 51 to start 2026.
There was speculation around the league that the Chargers would be willing to trade one or more of their top players in order to begin a midseason roster overhaul, with plenty of chatter that Herbert or Mack or McConkey could be on the move during what’s become a lost season.
Henley certainly qualified as a top player on a defense that had fared significantly better under new coordinator Chris O’Leary than the Chargers’ offense under new coordinator Mike McDaniel. Until this past Sunday’s 44-22 loss to the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium, that is.
The Chargers collapsed defensively, giving up a season-high 44 points, despite a team-leading 10 tackles plus an interception from Henley. Going into the game, Henley had recorded a half-sack, one tackle for loss, three quarterback hits, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Henley played collegiately at Nevada and transferred to Washington State. He was the 85th overall selection in the final draft of the regime of Staley and GM Tom Telesco. Harbaugh replaced Staley and Hortiz took over for Telesco after the Chargers went 5-12 during the 2023 season.
Henley was a quarterback and a defensive back at Crenshaw High. He began his career at Nevada as a wide receiver in 2017, then switched to defensive back in 2019 before moving to linebacker for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He played linebacker after transferring to Washington State in 2022.
The 26-year-old Henley was in the final season of his rookie contract, eligible to become a free agent in March. His cap hit will be a modest $1.84 million for the rest of the season. The Chargers could re-sign him when free agency opens, assuming the Broncos don’t sign him to an extension.
The Chargers and Broncos play in Denver in Week 18, the regular-season finale.
The Broncos won the first meeting, 23-17, on Oct. 11 at SoFi Stadium.
