Former Packers LB De’Vondre Campbell refuses to play during 49ers loss to Rams

Former Packers LB De’Vondre Campbell refuses to play during 49ers loss to Rams

De’Vondre Campbell burned a few bridges on his way out of Green Bay, and the former Packers linebacker might have burned another in San Francisco.

Campbell, who was released by the Packers this offseason and signed by the 49ers, refused to enter the game at linebacker and later left the field during Thursday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium.

According to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Campbell said he “didn’t want to play today” after the team asked him to come into the game in the third quarter. He later left the field and went back to the locker room without playing a snap.

The 49ers needed Campbell — who started 12 of the team’s first 13 games — to play after two different linebackers suffered injuries. After returning from injury this week, Dre Greenlaw was demoted to a backup role, perhaps adding to the frustration.

Campbell was All-Pro in his first season with the Packers in 2021, struggling through two consecutive injury-plagued seasons and publicly criticizing the team’s handling of his injury situation and his effort in defending Joe Barry. He was released by the Packers after June 1, ending his three-year stay in Green Bay.

Will Campbell be released? Shanahan didn’t say it specifically.

“We’ll figure something out,” Shanahan said.

Several 49ers players openly criticized Campbell’s refusal to play in the locker room after the game, which likely forced the team to take action. It won’t be a surprise if Campbell is released sometime in the coming days.

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