Coach Announces De'Vondre Campbell Will No Longer Be Part of 49ers After Refusing to Enter Game
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Friday that linebacker De'Vondre Campbell will no longer be part of the team after he refused to enter the game during Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Shanahan explained that Campbell walked off the field and headed to the locker room during the 12-6 defeat after losing his starting role. The coach emphasized that Campbell’s actions were unacceptable and would not be tolerated within the team.
“His actions from the game are not something you can do to your team or teammates and still expect to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said. “We’re working through the semantics right now, but we’ll handle the situation appropriately.”
Campbell will not be with the team for the remaining three weeks of the season. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the 49ers could suspend Campbell for up to four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, or they could waive him outright, allowing another team to potentially claim or sign him.
De'Vondre Campbell signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers in March.
Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of the team’s defensive snaps. However, he was benched on Thursday night following the return of Dre Greenlaw, who was making his first appearance since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season's Super Bowl.
In the third quarter, when Greenlaw was sidelined due to Achilles soreness, the 49ers wanted to reinsert Campbell into the game. However, Campbell refused to play, a situation head coach Kyle Shanahan said was unprecedented in his NFL coaching career. As of Friday, Shanahan stated he had not received any explanation from Campbell for his refusal to enter the game.
After the incident, Campbell walked off the field with a towel over his head and went into the locker room before the game concluded. The 49ers' loss to the Rams significantly hurt their playoff hopes. Shanahan clarified that he did not send Campbell to the locker room and was unaware of why he left the field.
“Once I found out he wasn’t playing, I moved on to players we could rely on,” Shanahan said.
Campbell's refusal to play left his teammates frustrated and confused.
“He’s a professional,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said after the game. “He’s been in the league for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have suited up. He could’ve told them before the game. I feel like that was selfish. It definitely hurt the team. Dre went down, and we needed a linebacker. For him to do that, that’s sucker behavior in my opinion. He’s probably going to get cut soon.”
Ward, who has dealt with personal tragedy this season—his one-year-old daughter passed away on October 28—has continued to play through adversity. He returned to the field for the last three games despite his heartbreaking loss.
Tight end George Kittle also expressed disappointment with Campbell’s actions, calling them “stupid” and “immature.”
“It’s one person making a selfish decision,” Kittle said. “I’ve never been around anyone who’s done that, and I hope I never have to again.”
Campbell, 31, joined the 49ers in the offseason after being released by the Green Bay Packers in March. A former All-Pro in 2021, his performance had declined over the past two seasons in Green Bay, leading him to voice frustrations on social media about being misused. While he was initially excited to join San Francisco, Campbell never returned to his All-Pro form. Although he had a few standout moments with the 49ers this season, he struggled consistently with tackling and coverage.
0 Comments