After the 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said that linebacker De’Vondre Campbell Sr. told the team he didn’t want to play and that he left the field in the third quarter of the game “Thursday Night Football” matchup.

“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan said after the game, noting the team wanted him to replace Dre Greenlaw when the linebacker left the game in the third quarter with some soreness. Greenlaw played in the Super Bowl for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon and was expected to play limited snaps. Greenlaw replaced Campbell in the starting lineup.

Several of Campbell’s teammates were unhappy with his decision.

“He is a professional, he has been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have taken his clothes off,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “He could have told them that before the game. So I feel like that was some stupid thing he did. Definitely hurt the team because Dee (Winters) was out and we needed a linebacker. And I think (Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles) was broken too, so for him to do that, in my opinion, that’s bullshit. He will probably be circumcised soon.”

Greenlaw, who said his Achilles felt fine after his season debut but felt some knee pain, appeared surprised by Campbell’s decision.

“He didn’t want to play, so I guess if you don’t want to play, you don’t have to play,” Greenlaw said. “He doesn’t want to play.”

Kyle Shanahan announced that De’Vondre Campbell did not want to play in the 3rd quarter.

The TNF crew shares their thoughts on the situation. pic.twitter.com/8lcK1tkGTT

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Tight end George Kittle didn’t know what happened to Campbell until after the game and was upset about the move.

“Look, if you’re in the squad and you’re getting fit, you’re expected to play,” Kittle said. “I think anyone in this building who is asked to go in would, in my opinion, 100 percent die to get on that football field. And so people experience random things off the field. I can’t say anything about that. Whatever his decision was, it was not for this organization, not for this team. And that’s up to him. I’m not very happy about it.

“I wish I had heard about it on the pitch but I didn’t. Now is that why we lost? Absolutely not. But it’s hard to win football games when someone doesn’t want to play football, especially when you’re fit.”

Shanahan said Campbell didn’t give him a reason why he didn’t want to play. Asked if the 49ers would release Campbell, Shanahan said: “We’ll figure something out. I don’t know at the moment.”

The eighth-year coach insisted that Campbell’s departure from the team was not because he feared he had lost the locker room.

“I didn’t lose anyone,” Shanahan said. “If someone doesn’t want to play football, it’s very easy. I think our team and I know what we think about it. I don’t think we need to talk about him anymore.”

Campbell signed with the 49ers in the offseason after spending the previous three seasons with the Green Bay Packers. This season he has totaled 79 tackles in 13 games (12 starts).

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(Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)