A day after refusing to enter San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the 49ers gave every indiction that they are planning to part ways with linebacker De’Vondre Campbell Sr.
When asked on a conference call Friday if he anticipated Campbell would be on the team in Week 16 and beyond, coach Kyle Shanahan said, “No, I don’t.” Earlier in his availability, Shanahan said the team was “working through the semantics of exactly how we’ll deal with it” and that “we’ll handle the situation appropriately.”
GO DEEPER
49ers’ De’Vondre Campbell refuses to play, quits TNF game in third quarter
Campbell told the team he didn’t want to play and left the field in the third quarter of Thursday’s night game, coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. Shanahan added that Campbell did not provide a reason for his refusal to enter the game on Thursday and has not contacted the coach to explain his decision. The Athletic reached out to Campbell’s agent Friday but has not heard back.
The 49ers had wanted Campbell to replace Dre Greenlaw, who left the game due to knee and Achilles soreness. Greenlaw was playing for the first time since tearing his Achilles in the Super Bowl and was expected to play limited snaps. Greenlaw replaced Campbell in the starting lineup after the veteran started 12 of the first 13 games.
After the game, several of Campbell’s teammates expressed their displeasure with the linebacker’s decision.
“He’s a professional, he’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “He could’ve told ’em that before the game. So I feel like that was some sucker s— that he did. Definitely hurt the team, ’cause Dee (Winters) went down and we needed a linebacker. And I think (Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles) was banged up too, so for him to do that, that’s some sucker stuff to me, in my opinion. He’s probably going to get cut soon.”
Tight end George Kittle didn’t know what happened with Campbell until after the game and was upset by the move.
“Look, if you’re on the roster and you suit up, you’re expected to play,” Kittle said. “I think anyone in this building that got asked to go in, I would say 100 percent of everybody would die to get on that football field. And so, you know, people go through random things off the field. I can’t speak on that. Whatever his decision was, it wasn’t for this organization, it wasn’t for this team. And that’s on him. I’m not very happy about it.
“I wish I would’ve heard about it on the field, but I didn’t. Now, is that the reason we lost? Absolutely not. But it’s hard to win football games when somebody doesn’t want to play football, especially when you’re suited up.”
Campbell signed with the 49ers in the offseason after spending the past three seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He’s tallied 79 total tackles in 13 games this season. The 31-year-old has played for four teams (49ers, Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons) in his nine-year career and was a first-team All-Pro in 2021 with Green Bay.
How does this impact the 49ers’ depth chart at LB?
Campbell’s departure will bump up young linebacker Dee Winters in the pecking order once he recovers from the neck injury that knocked him out of Thursday’s game. That changeover already had begun in Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears and may have been the cause of Campbell’s irritation. Campbell started the Bears game, but Winters took over his spot during stretches in the second half. That also happened back in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, drawing frustration from Campbell at the time, but Winters got hurt in that contest and Campbell retained his starting job.
Moving forward this season, the 49ers’ top two linebackers will be Fred Warner and Greenlaw, who may not be quite ready for a full complement of snaps following his return from a torn Achilles tendon, and Winters will fill in for him as needed. The 49ers also can promote a linebacker from the practice squad, Jalen Graham or DaShaun White, to take Campbell’s spot on the 53-man roster.
The bigger result of the Campbell incident may be one of attitude. His exit Thursday drew strong reactions from his soon-to-be ex-teammates, many of whom have played through injuries or, in the case of Ward, following a personal tragedy. Kittle noted how many young players and aspiring players “would die to be on that football field.” With only three games left and a playoff berth unlikely, the 49ers said they would use the remainder of the season to find out who truly wanted to be on the team. Which is to say, while there was some resignation following Thursday’s loss to the Rams, Campbell’s exit also seemed to spark plenty of fight. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
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