The San Francisco 49ers are planning to suspend Fort Myers native De'Vondre Campbell through the end of the season after refusing to play against the Rams, NFL insiders report .
NFL insider Ian Rapoport posted on X Monday morning that the 49ers plan to suspend the Cypress Lake graduate for three games, ending his season.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan said, "His actions from the game is just not something you can do to your team.”
San Francisco welcomed the Los Angeles Rams to Levi's Stadium for a pivotal NFC West showdown on Thursday night.
Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter after losing his starting job when Dre Greenlaw returned to action after recovering from a torn left Achilles in the 2023-24 Super Bowl.
The linebacker had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season while logging 90% of defensive snaps but was benched during the 49er's 12-6 loss at home.
Greenlaw made his first start of the season on Thursday but exited the game in the third quarter with soreness in his Achilles.
That's when Campbell was called upon to enter the game, but the nine-year veteran refused to take the field. Instead, Campbell left the sidelines for the locker room.
"He said he didn’t want to play today," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the loss, which left the 49ers on the verge of playoff elimination.
Campbell signed a one-year, $5 million deal this past offseason with the 49ers after the Green Bay Packers cut him in March.
"It’s one person making a selfish decision," tight end George Kittle said. "I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again."
If the 49ers waived Campbell, he would have been able to land with another team to play out the rest of the year.
By suspending him for conduct detrimental to the team, the 49ers will keep that from happening and they will also be able to avoid paying Campbell his final three paychecks of the year.
Campbell has started 13 games this season, logging 79 total tackles, three tackles for loss and zero sacks.
Campbell's refusal to play now will not only hurt his reputation, but his earnings for the 2024 season will be impacted as well.
The linebacker will enter the offseason as a free agent, and it will be interesting to see if an NFL team decides to bring him in.
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