An ugly season just got uglier for the San Francisco 49ers.
In the aftermath of their forgettable 12–6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football, a defeat that all but officially eliminates them from playoff contention, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that veteran linebacker De'Vondre Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter and walked off the field.
49ers teammates had plenty to say about Campbell after the game.
"I didn’t really hear anything about it until I got in the locker room, so it’s all brand new information to me," Kittle said. "Look, if you’re on the roster, and you suit up, you’re expected to play. I think anyone in this building who got asked to go in, I would say 100% of everybody would die to get on the football field.
"I'm not very happy about it. I wish I had heard about it on the field, but I didn’t. Is that the reason we lost? Absolutely not. But it’s hard to win football games when someone doesn’t want to play football. Especially when you’re suited up. ... I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody that does that again."
Campbell, who signed a one-year deal with the 49ers in March, started 12 games at linebacker this season. He entered Thursday night as the 49ers' second-leading tackler this season, logging 79 tackles while playing 90% of the defensive snaps.
Campbell was replaced as San Francisco's starting linebacker by Dre Greenlaw, who played Thursday night for the first time since tearing his Achilles in Super Bowl LVIII. Some 49ers teammates believe Campbell won't have a job in their locker room moving forward—not even as a backup.
"He’s a professional. He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed," cornerback Charvarius Ward said. "It definitely hurt the team. ... For him to do that, that’s some selfish stuff to me, in my opinion. He’s probably going to get cut soon, so it is what it is with that."
Fellow 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir shared a similar sentiment on social media after the loss.
Now 6–8 on the season, the 49ers now will move on to their Week 16 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. Whether Campbell is suiting up alongside the 49ers next Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium remains to be seen.
