De’Vondre Campbell, a linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers, was benched during Thursday night’s season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams. His apparent refusal to play drew criticism from colleagues and put his future on the team in jeopardy.
According to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Campbell refused to play when Dre Greenlaw, who had been injured, had to leave the game in the third quarter, bumping the veteran out of the starting lineup.
After the game, Shanahan told reporters that he didn’t want to participate today.
During a conference call with media on Friday, Shanahan announced that Campbell will no longer be playing for the team.
Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area, “We’re working through the semantics of exactly how to deal with it.” However, I spoke with you all last night. Our players reached out to you all. You cannot harm your teammates or your team with his conduct during the game and still be a member of our team.
Two of the team’s most admired players, tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward, expressed their annoyance with Campbell’s passivity on Thursday.
“It’s hard to win football games when someone doesn’t want to play football,” Kittle stated. “I believe that to be ignorant. And it’s just stupid, in my opinion. It’s just incredibly immature and foolish. I simply don’t see how you could harm your team in that way.
If Campbell didn’t want to play on Thursday, Ward said he should never have put on a uniform.
“That’s some sucka s—, it definitely hurt the team,” Ward remarked after his third game since his daughter, age one, passed away. “He’s probably going to get cut soon.”
The 49ers, the reigning NFC champions, were all but eliminated from playoff contention after the Los Angeles Rams upset San Francisco 12–6.
With three games remaining, the 6-8 Niners are 2 1/2 games behind first-place Seattle (8-5) in the standings. San Francisco had fewer than 1% chance of making the playoffs after the loss to the Rams.
On Friday, a National Football League Players Association spokesperson chose not to comment.
As a stand-in for Greenlaw, who tore his left Achilles tendon during the Super Bowl, the 49ers signed Campbell to a one-year contract in March.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!