Whitner says 49ers should cut Campbell for refusing to play appeared first on NBC Sports Bay Area
NBC Sports Bay Area analysts Donte Whitner and Rod Brooks didn’t hold back 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell after he refused to play in San Francisco’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
“Cut him out,” Whitner, who played 11 NFL seasons, said on “49ers Postgame Live” after San Francisco’s 12-6 loss. “That’s my opinion. Cut him. He hasn’t played well all season, and then you have an almost All-Pro linebacker coming back that you know is coming back from injury, you know they’re going to slot him into the starting spot.” lineup, you know you’re going to be his backup and then you tell the coaches I’m not going to the game today, I’d cut you there on the day of the game.
“We don’t feel sorry for you. You’re a professional, you didn’t do your job and you saw a clear difference with Dre Greenlaw in the game of why they played him over Campbell. So cut him. That’s for Kyle Shanahan, that’s for the 49ers organization.
Campbell, who has appeared in all 13 of the 49ers’ games this season, did not play Thursday as Greenlaw made his season debut after a lengthy rehab from a torn Achilles.
But after the game, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan explained what happened.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan said.
Brooks offered his thoughts on the situation.
“It was a crazy move,” Brooks said. “That’s terrible. He’s done with his team. He’s gone from his team. That’s the worst thing you can do.”
The 49ers signed Campbell, a nine-year NFL veteran, to $5 million a year this offseason after he spent the past three years with the Green Bay Packers.
In addition to Shanahan, 49ers tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward were also not happy after the loss to Campbell.
While it’s unclear whether the 49ers will cut Campbell, his tenure in San Francisco and the team’s playoff hopes hang in the balance.