SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to play in Thursday night’s game in the third quarter after losing his starting job when Dre Greenlaw returned from injury.

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 for San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after Greenlaw returned to his first game since his retirement Left Achilles tendon rupture came back in last season’s Super Bowl.

Greenlaw had eight tackles in the first half but left the game in the third quarter with soreness in his Achilles tendon. At this point, Campbell refused to participate in the game.

“He said he didn’t want to play today,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the loss that left the 49ers (6-8) on the brink of playoff elimination.

Shanahan said he has never experienced anything like this in his coaching career and said the team will “figure something out” about how to handle it in the future.

Campbell headed to the locker room, leaving his teammates confused and angry.

“He’s a professional,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have taken his clothes off. He could have told them that before the game. I feel like that was something selfish he did. It definitely hurt.” The team was down and we needed a linebacker… In my opinion, that’s a selfish thing. He will probably be released soon.

Campbell, 31, signed a one-year, $5 million contract with San Francisco in the offseason after being cut by Green Bay in March.

He had been an All-Pro for the Packers in 2021, but his performance declined over the last two seasons in Green Bay. He had some bright moments in San Francisco this season, but often struggled with tackling and coverage.

“It’s a person making a selfish decision,” tight end George Kittle said. “I’ve never been around anyone who has ever done that and I hope I’m never around anyone who does it again.”