San Francisco 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell apparently had seen enough of Thursday night’s game versus the Los Angeles Rams.
According to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter when asked to check in to replace linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan said after the 49ers’ 12-6 loss.
Shanahan, who said the incident happened in the third quarter, told reporters it was the first time in his head coaching career that a player refused to play when asked.
The Prime Video cameras captured footage of Campbell, helmet in hand, walking off the field and heading to the locker room during the fourth quarter.
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Campbell started 12 games for the 49ers this season. He was replaced Thursday in the starting lineup by Greenlaw, who made his season debut. Greenlaw was playing his first game since suffering a torn Achilles in Super Bowl 58.
After Greenlaw experienced what Shanahan described as “tightness” in the second half, Campbell apparently refused to replace him at linebacker.
“That is one person who decided not to play for his teammates,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said. “It’s one person making a selfish decision. … I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that. And I hope I’m never around anybody that does that again.”
Shanahan was noncommittal when asked if the 49ers will release Campbell.
“We’ll figure out something. I don’t know that right now,” Shanahan said.
Later, Shanahan added that “When someone says that, you move on. You don’t deal with that anymore.”
The 31-year-old linebacker is in his first season in San Francisco. He’s spent time with the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.
Campbell’s odd exit exacerbates a tough Week 15 loss for the 49ers.
San Francisco (6-8) has less than a 1% chance to make the playoffs after dropping Thursday’s game to Los Angeles, per NFL Next Gen Stats. The 49ers are currently in last place in the NFC West.
“This one hurts,” 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said. “We have a lot of guys in the locker room who are gonna continue to fight, including myself. For this organization, for our fanbase and for each other more than anything to finish out the season in the right way. Focus on one game at a time and see where we are at, at the end of it.”
