San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said linebacker De’Vondre Campbell will not be part of the 49ers moving forward after he declined to participate in a game after losing his starting job.
Shanahan said the team is still figuring out how to handle Campbell, who walked to the locker room in the middle of a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night when he refused to participate in the game.
“His actions out of the game are not something you can do to your team or teammates and still expect to be part of our team,” Shanahan said Friday. “We are currently working on the semantics, but we will handle the situation appropriately.”
Shanahan said Campbell will not be part of the team for the final three weeks. Teams have the option to suspend players for up to four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, according to the collective bargaining agreement. The Niners could also simply waive Campbell, potentially allowing him to be claimed or signed by another team.
Campbell signed a one-year, $5 million contract with San Francisco in March.
Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of the defensive snaps for the 49ers, but was benched Thursday night after Dre Greenlaw returned for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl of last season.
When the 49ers wanted to put Campbell in the game in the third quarter because Greenlaw was sidelined with soreness in his Achilles tendon, Campbell refused, something Shanahan said has never happened to him in his time as a head coach or assistant in the NFL. Shanahan said Friday that he hasn’t received any explanation from Campbell as to why he wasn’t playing.
Campbell then walked off the field with a towel draped over his head and entered the locker room before the end of the game with the Rams, almost ending the 49ers’ playoff hopes. Shanahan said he did not send Campbell to the locker room and did not know why he left the field.
“When I found out he wasn’t playing, I moved on to people we could count on,” he said.
Campbell’s decision left his teammates angry and bewildered.
“He’s a professional,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said after the game. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have undressed. He could have told them before the game. So I feel like that was selfish. It certainly hurt the team. Dre went down and we needed a linebacker. …For him to do that, in my opinion, is worthless shit. He will probably be circumcised soon.”
Ward is one of many 49ers who have experienced injury or personal tragedy during a difficult season for San Francisco. Ward’s one-year-old daughter died on Oct. 28, but he has returned and played the last three games for San Francisco.
Tight end George Kittle called Campbell’s actions “stupid” and “immature”.
“It’s one person making a selfish decision,” Kittle said. “I’ve never been around anyone who has ever done that and I hope I’m never around anyone who does that again.”
The 31-year-old Campbell signed with San Francisco in the offseason after being cut by Green Bay in March. He was an All-Pro for the Packers in 2021, but his play regressed the past two seasons in Green Bay.
That led to Campbell complaining on social media that he was being abused by Green Bay. He expressed excitement about joining a new team, but he never returned to his All-Pro level. Campbell had some nice moments in San Francisco this season, but regularly struggled in tackling and coverage.