​The failed Daiyan Henley trade has exposed a previously unknown (by many) loophole in the trade deadline, which could be used by an unscrupulous team to leverage better terms after a deal is otherwise done — and the time for negotiating trades has otherwise ended.Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh essentially accused the Broncos of being unscrupulous by taking the position that Henley had failed his physical but that the physical would magically be un-failed if the compensation for Henley was reduced from a fourth-round pick and a fifth-round pick.In response to an inquiry from PFT, the Broncos had no comment on the situation.During a normal week, Broncos coach Sean Payton would be meeting with reporters on Friday. Because Denver has a Week 10 bye, Payton won’t speak to the media again until Monday. At that point, it will be interesting to see whether he shares the Broncos’ position, or whether he makes it clear that Denver is moving on.Of course, that doesn’t stop the Broncos from pushing their position on an off-the-record basis to one of the reporters who routinely covers the team. And their position seems to be that the Broncos believe the Chargers weren’t candid about the condition of Henley’s knee during the discussions that preceded the trade.The Broncos also contend, not on the record (yet), that the goal was to acquire Henley (who is in the last year of his contract) not as a rental but as a long-term addition. (They would have acquired exclusive negotiating rights with Henley through the opening of the legal tampering period in March.)Still, with Harbaugh making his case on the record, the Broncos should do the same. While there’s surely some sensitivity to the impact of the chatter about Henley’s knee on his future earning potential, the options (in our view) should be to address the situation on the record or say nothing.Through it all, the more important point is that the league’s procedures allow things like this to happen. And, apparently, deadline deals have indeed been tweaked in the past based on concerns about a player’s physical.It shouldn’t be that way. For any deal done before 4:00 p.m. ET on the day the trade window closes, there should be two possible outcomes: The player passes the physical and the deal goes through as negotiated, or the player fails the physical and the player reverts to his prior team.