The season of the San Francisco 49ers, who appeared as strong candidates to win the National Conference and return to the Super Bowl, ended in practice on Thursday night, after losing 12-6, in a lackluster game without touchdowns, against the Los Angeles Rams. There are still three more games to go, but the Bay Area team’s chances of making the playoffs are 1% according to Next Gen Stats.
Amidst this disappointing campaign, marked by a team decimated by injuries like those of Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, the "Niners" added a new issue with a player who simply refused to enter the game.
This is about linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who said no when asked to enter the game in the third quarter, upset about losing his starting position after Dre Greenlaw returned from an injury.
Why did De'Vondre Campbell not want to play for the 49ers?
Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of the 49ers' defensive snaps until last Sunday, but was benched after Greenlaw's return, who played his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season's Super Bowl.
Greenlaw recorded eight tackles in the first half, but left the game in the third quarter due to new discomfort in his Achilles tendon. It was then that Campbell refused to enter the game and went straight to the locker room.
The coach and Campbell's teammates had a tough reaction.
"He said he didn't want to play today," commented coach Kyle Shanahan after the defeat, stating that he had never seen anything like it in his coaching career and that the team will seek to "find a solution" to handle the situation in the future.
"He is a professional," said cornerback Charvarius Ward. "He has been playing for a long time. If he didn't want to play, he shouldn't have suited up for the game. He could have said it before the game. I feel that was somewhat selfish of him. It definitely hurt the team. Dre left the game and we needed a linebacker... To do that, in my opinion, is selfish. He will probably be cut soon."
"It's a person making a selfish decision," said tight end George Kittle. "I've never been close to someone who has done that, and I hope I never have to be close to someone who does."
Who is De’Vondre Campbell?
Campbell, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 Draft, was selected by the Falcons and later went through Arizona. This season he signed a one-year contract worth $5 million with San Francisco after being released by Green Bay in March.
He had been All-Pro in 2021 with the Packers, but his performance declined in the last two seasons in Green Bay.
It is highly likely that Campbell will be cut by San Francisco in the next few hours, and with that background, it will be difficult for him to find a place on another team.