The Las Vegas Raiders and their fans understand the crude emotion of a failed trade. That's because earlier this offseason, the Baltimore Ravens weaseled out of a blockbuster deal that they had in place with the Raiders involving Maxx Crosby and two first-round picks. This was the business at its worst.
Eric DeCosta and the folks up in Baltimore re-set a precedent by doing this, too.
Following Tuesday's trade deadline, every agreement between two teams was finalized on the league transaction wire. That includes Las Vegas shippingKirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings, along with other AFC West trades, like the Los Angeles Chargers sending Daiyan Henley to the Denver Broncos.
But on Wednesday evening, over a full day after the deadline had passed and the NFL processed the trade, the Broncos announced on social mediathat they were backing out of the deal, which would have sent the Chargers a fourth-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2028.
As slimy as this seems to be by Denver, considering Henley has played in every game this season, every game but one over the last three years, and has missed just three in his career, the Raiders should actually be relishing in the deal falling through, as this is the worst outcome for both sides.
Raiders should be celebrating Broncos backing out of Daiyan Henley deal with Chargers
Of course, nobody in the Las Vegas front office wants the teams in the division to get stronger. This is not to say that the Raiders want it to be easy, but rival AFC West teams making boneheaded moves should always be celebrated by those in the Silver and Black.
And now that the trade has fallen through, it looks pretty boneheaded for both sides.
It was always strange that the Broncos gave up that much capital for a rental linebacker, but under the guise of competing for a Super Bowl this year, nobody really batted an eye. Denver needed help at linebacker arguably more than anywhere else on the roster, and they got just that at the deadline.
Until they got buyer's remorse and didn't.
Now, the same line of reasoning for backing out of the deal is coming out about the Henley trade that came out after the Crosby trade: The Broncos are citing a failed physical, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, which is a hard thing to disprove, to be fair. But I don't completely buy it, of course.
Not exactly fitting, either, for a guy who has missed so few games in his career.
All of that aside, the Raiders should be quite happy that the deal went through. Denver is in a window to contend, and it needed to go all-in at the deadline. The fact that they only made an addition at linebacker and left the tight end and running back rooms as is was already an error, to most.
On top of that, though, they don't even have help at linebacker now. Yes, they are 7-2 with their current roster, but the other Super Bowl hopefuls in the AFC and the league at large made significant moves at the deadline. If everyone else gets better and you don't, then you just got worse.
In Raiderville, it is hard to be upset about that. The Broncos are their bitter rivals, and nobody wants to see them hoisting a Lombardi Trophy. While Henley is not an All-Pro-level player or anything, he was precisely what Denver needed on defense. He is scarier and more impactful than a few Day 3 picks.
From the Chargers' side of things, they bungled the trade deadline in an unimaginably bad way.
Sitting at 0-8, there was really no excuse for them not to sell most of their valuable pieces and stockpile draft picks to rebuild this offseason and come back stronger in 2027. That is what every other bad team did, and Los Angeles is undoubtedly the worst team in the league.
However, the deadline came and went, and all they did was send Henley away - to a division rival, no less. They didn't get picks for aging veterans on expiring deals like Khalil Mack, Quentin Johnston or Donte Jackson, and they didn't make a blockbuster trade with Tuli Tuipulotu or Derwin James.
With the Henley deal called off, the Chargers essentially stood pat at the deadline. They sold less than the 4-5 Raiders did. Los Angeles did not set itself up to brighten its future in the offseason, and the present is quite dim for the franchise already. This was malpractice by Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz.
They alienated a team captain, whose social media post after the trade was cancelled says it all, and now the Chargers will get less compensation for him if he leaves this offseason. And they gained a total of zero picks at the deadline. They are 0-8! There is nothing to salvage. What a mess.
That said, you won't find the Raiders or their fans upset about this. Does it stir up some emotions about the Crosby trade? Of course. The Silver and Black will forever be scarred by shady business. But it's a good thing, in this case, as it hurt both the Broncos and the Chargers badly.
It's their funeral, I suppose.
Add us as a preferred source on Google