The San Francisco 49ers are planning to punish linebacker De’Vondre Campbell after he left the field mid-game on Dec. 12.
Campbell was signed to play in relief of Dre Greenlaw, who tore his Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII in February; Greenlaw returned to the starting lineup on Thursday. In the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams, Campbell was asked to fill in for Greenlaw, who had knee soreness. Instead, Campbell walked off the field and was soundly criticized by his teammates. During a conference call with reporters Friday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team is deciding how to handle Campbell.
“We’re working through the semantics of exactly how to deal with it,” Shanahan said. “But you guys heard from me last night, you guys heard from our players. His actions from the game is just not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still expect to be a part of our team. So we’re working through exactly the semantics of it right now, but we’ll handle the situation appropriately.”
A reporter asked if anyone from the team had had further contact with Campbell. “No,” he said.
Shanahan also pointed out that Campbell was already distant from his teammates in the second quarter when linebacker Dee Winters had to come out of the game for a play. Winters was replaced by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. When Flannigan-Fowles filled in for Greenlaw in the third quarter, Shanahan spoke to the defensive coaches to find out what was going on. He spoke to Campbell, saw his demeanor, and immediately moved on.
Shortly afterward, a reporter asked Shanahan to clarify if he expected Campbell to be on the roster for the team’s Week 16 game against the Miami Dolphins and beyond.
“No, I don’t,” Shanahan bluntly replied.
The team has several options for disciplining Campbell. He could be suspended without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, or–since he is on a one-year deal–he could be released outright. Whatever the case, the team will need to add linebacker depth: Greenlaw is still dealing with soreness, while Winters suffered a neck injury Thursday.
Campbell was also criticized by multiple 49ers players.
“He [is] a professional, he [has] been playing for a long time,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said in the locker room postgame. “If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out. … I feel like that … definitely hurt the team ‘cause [Winters] went down and we needed a linebacker, and I think [Flannigan-Fowles] was banged up too.”
“Look, if you’re on the roster and you suit up, you’re expected to play,” said tight end and team captain George Kittle. “Whatever his decision was, it wasn’t for this organization, it wasn’t for this team and that’s on him.”
“It’s hard to win football games when someone doesn’t want to play football, especially when you’re suited up, and [it] kind of puts you down, especially when you lose two linebackers and could’ve dressed another one.”
Kittle called the decision “selfish,” echoing a comment Ward had made. “I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody that does that again,” he concluded.
“He didn’t want to play,” Greenlaw said. “I guess if you don’t want to play you ain’t got to play.”
Campbell signed a one-year deal with the 49ers in March to serve as a bridge linebacker while Greenlaw recovered from his injury. He started 12 of 13 games and was second on the team in tackles with 79; he also defended two passes. Campbell was picked by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. He spent four seasons with the Falcons, a season with the Arizona Cardinals, and two years with the Green Bay Packers.
