De’Vondre Campbell refuses to attend the San Francisco 49ers game
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De’Vondre Campbell refuses to attend the San Francisco 49ers game

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Los Angeles Rams 12-6 on December 12, but what happened on the sidelines has people talking.

Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was called to replace the injured Dre Greenlaw in the third quarter of the game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, but refused to take the field and went to the locker room.

“He said he didn’t want to play today,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said in his postgame press conference. He added that he had never experienced a moment where a player said he didn’t want to play.

De'Vondre Campbell of the San Francisco 49ers.
Campbell leaves the field during his team’s 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images

Greenlaw had played his first game this season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the Super Bowl in February and appeared to injure it again, prompting the call for Campbell. Shanahan was also asked if the team planned to release him.

“We’ll figure something out, but I don’t know right now,” he said, adding that Campbell didn’t give a reason why he wouldn’t play.

Shanahan, who led the 49ers to two Super Bowl appearances, also said Campbell’s actions were hard to miss.

“People noticed, but when someone says that, you move on. “We don’t deal with that anymore,” he said.

Campbell, 31, did not play any snaps before the incident. He is in his ninth season in the NFL after being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons out of the University of Minnesota, where he spent the first four years of his career. He has also played for the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.

He is in his first season with the 49ers and has started 12 games, with his 79 tackles being the second most on the team this year.

Shanahan said he isn’t worried about other players on the team losing their focus.

“This is someone who doesn’t want to play football,” he said. “It’s pretty simple. I think our team and I know how we feel about it, so I don’t think we need to talk about him anymore.”

Campbell’s teammates responded a little more bluntly.

“Look, if you’re on the roster and you’re getting fit, you’re expected to play,” star tight end George Kittle said.

“I think anyone in this building who is asked to go in, I think 100% of everyone would die to get on that football field. People go through random things off the field, I can’t comment on that. Whatever his decision was, it wasn’t for this organization, it wasn’t for this team, and that’s on him. I’m not very happy about it.”

De'Vondre Campbell of the San Francisco 49ers Thursday, December 12, 2024 in Santa Clara, CA.
De’Vondre Campbell’s future is up in the air.Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images

“It’s a person making a…selfish decision,” he added. “I’ve never been around anyone who has ever done that and I hope I’m never around anyone who does it again.”

Cornerback Charvarius Ward was also surprised by Campbell’s actions, especially given that other players were injured.

“I mean, he’s a professional,” he said. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed up. He could have told them that before the game. So I feel like there were some douchebags there – that he definitely hurt the team because Dee (Winters) was out and we needed a linebacker. … In my opinion this is nonsense. It’ll probably be cut soon, so that’s what it is.”

The loss to the Rams dropped the 49ers to 6-8 on the season, which dropped them into last place in the NFC West and significantly hurt their chances of making the playoffs.

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