After Thursday night’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, it was clear that De’Vondre Campbell would no longer be welcome in the locker room.
Campbell, the 49ers’ starting linebacker for most of this season and a nine-year NFL veteran, refused to start the game against the Rams in the second half, and when head coach Kyle Shanahan asked him about it, Campbell said he “didn’t win. I don’t want to play today,” according to Shanahan. Then Campbell walked from the sideline to the locker room and never came back.
NFL teams can put up with a lot, but being shut out in the middle of a game is on the short list of things that are usually unforgivable. Shanahan made it clear Friday that Campbell will no longer play for San Francisco.
Shanahan told reporters Friday that what Campbell did “isn’t something you can do and still be part of our team,” via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise. Shanahan said the team had no contact with Campbell as of Thursday night. He confirmed that Campbell will not be with the team in Week 16.
What comes next for Campbell and the 49ers is unclear. He could be suspended. The Baltimore Ravens suspended receiver Diontae Johnson for the Week 14 game after he refused to play the week before. If the 49ers release Campbell, he’ll have the option to sign with another team for the rest of the season, and San Francisco doesn’t appear to be in the mood to help Campbell fit in anywhere else.
Shanahan said the team is “working through the semantics” of what happens next with Campbell.
It is rare for a player to refuse to enter a game when asked, and much more unusual for a player to leave his team during a game. In 2018, cornerback Vontae Davis told the Buffalo Bills at halftime of the game that he was done and gone. Before the end of the 2021 season, Antonio Brown took off his pads and jersey and danced across the end zone as he left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the middle of a game. Campbell joins that strange list.
Campbell was essentially benched Thursday with Dre Greenlaw back in the lineup. When Greenlaw got hit in the second half, the team wanted Campbell to go inside. Then he refused and left. Many of Campbell’s teammates criticized his actions after the game. Tight end George Kittle called it “stupid” and “immature.”
It’s no surprise that Campbell won’t be back. Although his return to meet his teammates after what happened Thursday night would be interesting.
Who is De’Vondre Campbell?
Before Thursday night, Campbell had a good reputation.
Campbell was a fourth-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016 out of the University of Minnesota and started 10 games as a rookie. He started at least 10 games in each of his nine NFL seasons.
Last season, Campbell earned the high honor of being the Green Bay Packers’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. This award goes to a player who excels on the field and also helps the community through charity work.
“We are honored to nominate De’Vondre for this prestigious award,” Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said via the team’s website, Packers.com. “He does so much with his De’Vondre Campbell Family Youth Foundation to help families in need through football camps, donations and their Adopt A Family program. We are proud to highlight his commitment to the community and his excellence. on and off the field.”
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Campbell played four years in Atlanta, one with the Arizona Cardinals, and then had a solid three-season stretch with the Packers, including his best NFL season. In 2021, Campbell had 146 tackles, two interceptions and two sacks and was named first-team All-Pro.
He signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the 49ers last season, bringing his career earnings to $39.1 million, according to Spotrac. Campbell started 12 of the 49ers’ first 13 games and had 79 tackles. Campbell didn’t play a snap in the first half Thursday night, giving way to Greenlaw in his return from an Achilles injury suffered in last season’s Super Bowl. In the second half, the 49ers asked him to go into the game, and he declined.
Campbell was nominated for the prestigious off-field award, was a first-team All-Pro in his career, started in 122 of 128 career games and earned nearly $40 million in salary, but he’s probably best remembered for what happened. on Thursday evening.