The stars of the San Francisco 49ers were stunned to learn that one of their teammates decided to quit the team in the middle of a rivalry game on Thursday Night Football.
De’Vondre Campbell, a nine-year NFL veteran and linebacker, decided to leave the field in the third quarter of the game, telling the coaches he simply didn’t want to play anymore.
After the game, which the 49ers lost 12–6, several of Campbell’s teammates expressed anger and frustration that one of their own decided to withdraw from the game.
When asked if such a decision would create a disconnect in the locker room, Niners star George Kittle said Campbell’s actions were his own and the team would try to move past that.
“Not disbelief or disconnect as a team. That’s a guy who just decided not to play for his teammates,” Kittle told reporters after the game.
“That doesn’t make our offense look at each other like ‘wow man, we’re falling apart’ or the defense (say) ‘Hey, we’re falling apart.’
Niners players are furious with teammate De’Vondre Campbell after he left the team in the middle of a rivalry game against the Los Angeles Rams because he didn’t feel like playing
Niners players Charvarius Ward (L) and George Kittle (R) expressed their disappointment
“It’s more of one person making, as cornerback Charvarius Ward said, a selfish decision. and I agree with (Ward). I’ve never been around anyone who’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anyone who does that again.”
Ward, who recently lost his young daughter, was the most outspoken in his criticism of Campbell, telling reporters in the locker room after the game: “He’s a professional, he’s been playing for a long time. I mean, if he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have undressed. You know, he could have told me that before the game. So I feel like what he did was a mess.”
“It definitely hurt the team because you know Dee (Winters) went down and we needed a linebacker, I think (linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles) was in trouble too.
‘So when he does that, I think it’s stupid stuff. I’ll probably be cut soon, so that’s what it’s all about.”
Meanwhile, defensive star and leader Fred Warner said, “I don’t want to say too much about it. I keep it in the house.”
Campbell was mainly used as a replacement for linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who tore his Achilles tendon while jogging on the field at Super Bowl LVIII. Greenlaw made his long-awaited return to the field on Thursday.
Campbell has been in the league since 2016 when he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (115th overall) out of the University of Minnesota.
He also made stops with the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers. He earned a first-team All-Pro shoutout with Green Bay in 2021.