The San Francisco 49ers plans to suspend the linebacker De’Vondre Campbell three games for refusing to come to Thursday’s game against Los Angeles Ramssources confirmed to ESPN on Monday.
The suspension, first reported by NFL Network, will likely end Campbell’s season. The 49ers (6-8) are mathematically alive in the postseason, but behind four other teams they occupy the seventh and final NFC playoff spot.
Campbell the decision not to play following the Niners’ 12-6 loss, he angered coach Kyle Shanahan and many of his teammates.
“It’s not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still be a part of our team” – Shanahan said Friday.
The team had the option to release the 31-year-old Campbell, which would have allowed him to resign and potentially sign a contract with the team where he would play for the rest of the season. However, a suspension would likely allow the Niners to recoup some of the $3.35 million signing bonus they gave Campbell when he signed a one-year, $5 million deal in March.
He signed after another veteran linebacker, Eric Kendricksagreed to sign with San Francisco, then withdrew and went to Dallas Cowboys. Campbell was supposed to be a placeholder Dre Greenlawthe team’s starting shortstop who was recovering from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in Super Bowl LVIII.
As Greenlaw continued to recover over the first 13 weeks, Campbell started 12 games and played 90% of the defensive snaps, making 79 tackles, including three for a loss and two passes defensively.
Greenlaw’s return on Thursday night immediately sparked a Niners defense that held the Rams without a first down for the entire first quarter and to just three points in the first half. However, Greenlaw began dealing with knee pain in the third quarter when the Niners asked Campbell to enter the game.
According to Shanahan, Campbell was actually asked to come on in the second quarter when he was a strong center fielder Dee Winters left with a neck injury. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles had to replace Winters after Campbell told the coaching staff he didn’t want to play. He headed to the locker room in the fourth quarter and, according to Shanahan, the defender did it himself.
After the season, Campbell will become an unrestricted free agent.
