According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the San Francisco 49ers are expected to suspend linebacker De'Vondre Campbell following his actions during Thursday night's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. This likely marks the end of Campbell's tenure with the team.
Campbell, who signed with the 49ers this past offseason to temporarily replace Dre Greenlaw, did not play in Thursday's game, as Greenlaw returned to the starting lineup after a 10-month recovery from a torn Achilles.
When Greenlaw exited in the third quarter due to knee soreness, Campbell was instructed to take the field but reportedly refused. Instead, he retreated to the locker room, apparently unhappy with his demotion.
"My understanding of how this happens, and it has not happened officially yet, is the 49ers are likely to suspend Campbell rather than just release him," Rapoport said Sunday morning on NFL Gameday. "That is the expectation."
Why not release the disgruntled linebacker outright?
"A couple reasons for that," Rapport explained. "One, it prevents him from just going on waivers, getting claimed and signing with another team, playing out the rest of the season. Also, it would potentially allow them to claw back some of his $3.35 million signing bonus."
When asked on Friday if Campbell would remain with the team, head coach Kyle Shanahan responded bluntly, "No, I don't."
Shanahan added, "His actions from the game is not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still expect to be a part of our team. So, we're working through exactly the semantics of it right now, but we'll handle the situation appropriately."
After the game, tight end George Kittle did not hold back in criticizing Campbell's actions, calling the incident "stupid" and "very immature."
"I've never been around anybody that's ever done that, and I hope I'm never around anybody that does that again," Kittle said.
