The San Francisco 49ers played against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night but with a bit of drama on the 49ers team ahead of the game. Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to play in the game due to being bumped from the starting lineup when previously injured Dre Greenlaw returned for the game. When Greenlaw needed to come out of the game in the third quarter Campbell declined to play, according to 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan.
San Francisco 49ers Lose To Rams At Home
Not only did the 49ers lose at home to the Rams on Thursday night in the rain, but they also managed to have poor sportsmanship by their linebacker during the game. When Coach Shanahan called De’Vondre Campbell to go into the game in the third quarter Campbell said he did not want to play. San Francisco 49ers players vented their frustration about the situation when Campbell stated he did not want to play.
Tight End George Kittle said, “It’s hard to win football games when someone doesn’t want to play football, “I think that’s ignorant. And I think it’s just dumb. It’s just stupid, and it’s very immature. I just don’t see how you could do something like that to your team.” Cornerback Charvarius Ward also said his feelings about Campbell’s actions “That’s some sucka s—, it definitely hurt the team.”
The 49ers will most likely be moving on from De’Vondre Campbell after his actions yesterday. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan announced Friday afternoon they are working out the semantics of how. Suspension is an option, as is release. All around the NFL world media members said the 49ers should cut Campbell for declining to play and should face some form of discipline for letting his team down.
Further Fallout
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on “First Take” today, “If it were me, he would’ve been cut before he left the locker room, He wouldn’t have made it out of the locker room as a San Francisco 49er. I’ll be honest with you: his career is in grave jeopardy. And it should be.”
The Los Angeles Rams defeated the San Francisco 49ers at home 12-6 which essentially removed the defending NFC Champions from the playoffs. The 49ers now have a 1% chance of making the playoffs. The 6-8 San Francisco 49ers have three games left and trail the first-place Seattle Seahawks by 2.5 games.
Final Thoughts
The San Francisco 49ers have not been the same this season after coming off a successful season last year. The 49ers are suffering some major injuries this season with players such as Running Back Christian McCaffrey and Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk out for the season. Quarterback Brock Purdy has also been suffering from a shoulder injury and has not been at his best this season. The 49ers will look to regroup next Sunday against the Miami Dolphins in Miami.
However, it looks like they will be without De’Vondre Campbell when the 49ers head to Miami. It is not a great situation as the San Francisco 49ers do not want that mentality in their locker room. This means they will be down a linebacker and others will have to step up in the interim.
