Football is a sport many regard to be the ultimate team game. That’s why 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refusing to sub in for Dre Greenlaw during the team’s 12-6 loss against the Rams on Thursday caused an uproar among his teammates.
It’s also why 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan affirmed Friday that Campbell won’t play another down as a 49er. That said, how the team specifically concludes its relationship with Campbell is still being hammered out, with Shanahan previously mentioning that the club is “working the semantics of exactly how to deal with it.”
NFL Media reports on Sunday that the team is likely to suspend Campbell for the remainder of the season rather than outright release him. The reason behind that maneuver is twofold. First, it would prevent Campbell from going on waivers and possibly signing with a team to play out the rest of the season. Second, a suspension possibly allows the team to recoup some of the $3.35 million signing bonus it gave to Campbell. The linebacker signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the team in March.
“You guys heard from me last night,” Shanahan said Friday. “You guys heard from our players. His actions from the game is not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still expect to be a part of our team.”
Shanahan found out about Campbell’s decision to quit on his teammates from his defensive coaches on the headset, and then quickly moved on.
“Not sure exactly what led to him leaving the field,” Shanahan said. “Once I found out he wasn’t playing, I moved on to people we could count on. … We needed a starting-caliber linebacker to fill in for Dre until he got back. [Campbell] had ups and downs throughout the year. He started off slow. He got more used to our defense and how we expect people to play, and he improved throughout the year.”
Campbell’s 49ers teammates publicly expressed their frustration postgame after Campbell refused to enter the game with Greenlaw’s leg injury flaring up and Dee Winters’ first-half neck injury preventing him from staying in the game.
“If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed. He could have told them that before the game,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said postgame. “I feel like that was some sucker shit that he did. … That’s some selfish stuff to me, in my opinion. Probably gonna be cut soon.”
“I think that’s ignorant,” tight end George Kittle said. “And I think it’s just dumb. It’s just stupid, and it’s very immature. I just don’t see how you could do something like that to your team. … If anybody in this building got asked to go in, I would say 100% of everybody would die to be on that football field. People are going 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.”
It’s safe to say the 49ers locker room approves of Shanahan’s and the front office’s call to move on from Campbell in whatever capacity the team deems fit.
“It’s one person making a selfish decision,” Kittle added. “I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.”
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