San Francisco linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter Thursday night’s game during the third quarter after losing his starting role to Dre Greenlaw, who returned from injury.
Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games this season, playing 90% of the defensive snaps for the 49ers. However, he was benched during San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after Greenlaw returned for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl.
Greenlaw recorded eight tackles in the first half but exited the game in the third quarter due to Achilles soreness. At that point, Campbell declined to play.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” coach Kyle Shanahan stated following the loss, which left the 49ers (6-8) on the verge of playoff elimination.
Shanahan remarked that he had never experienced such an incident in his coaching career and added, “We’ll figure out something” to address the situation moving forward.
The decision sparked sharp criticism, with analyst Mark Schlereth declaring on Friday’s “Breakfast Ball,” “I have never seen a more selfish act. Quitting on your teammates? Absolutely unacceptable. I’ve said it for weeks. I’ve said, ‘Something smells fishy about the 49ers. There’s something not right about the 49ers.’ … The fact that you would walk out on your teammates because you feel sorry for yourself … that is unacceptable. Unbelievable that this happened.
“As far as I’m concerned, that guy is retired. I don’t want him anywhere around my football team.”
Cohost Danny Parkins added that it was absolutely “egregious” for Campbell to abandon his team, especially when players like Charvarius Ward, Trent Williams, and Ricky Pearsall have overcome immense challenges to stay on the field.
“Charvarius Ward … this year, he lost his 1-year-old daughter,” Parkins said. “Trent Williams is a first-ballot Hall of Famer whose wife delivered a stillborn child this year — and he is working to come back from injury. Ricky Pearsall was shot, and he has come back and played. I cannot even begin to fathom what those guys are thinking.”
“It was so shocking given the obvious nature of it, but also because how does he look those guys who’ve overcome so much in the locker room [in the face]? How could you do it?” Campbell’s decision left his teammates both bewildered and angry.
“He’s a professional,” Charvarius Ward said. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out. He could have told them that before the game. I feel like that was some selfish (stuff) that he did. It definitely hurt the team. Dre went down, and we needed a linebacker. … For him to do that, that’s some selfish (stuff) to me, in my opinion. He’s probably gonna get cut soon.”
The 31-year-old Campbell signed a one-year, $5 million deal with San Francisco during the offseason after being released by Green Bay in March.
Though he was an All-Pro in 2021 with the Packers, Campbell’s performance had declined over the past two seasons. While he had a few standout moments this season in San Francisco, he often struggled with tackling and coverage.
“It’s one person making a selfish decision,” tight end George Kittle said. “I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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