San Francisco 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell left the sidelines during his team’s season-crushing loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night, in an apparent refusal to play that earned scorn from teammates and jeopardized his spot on the team.
The veteran had been bumped from the starting lineup with the return of the previously injured Dre Greenlaw, but when Greenlaw needed to come out of the game in the third quarter Campbell declined to play, according to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan told reporters after the game.
Shanahan said Friday on a conference call with reporters that Campbell will no longer be a member of the team.
“We’re working through the semantics of exactly how to deal with it,” Shanahan said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “But you guys heard from me last night. You guys heard from our players. His actions from the game is not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still be a part of our team.”
On Thursday, tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward, two of the team’s most respected players, vented their frustration with Campbell’s inaction.
“It’s hard to win football games when someone doesn’t want to play football,” Kittle said. “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.”
Ward said Campbell should have never put on a uniform if he didn’t want to play Thursday.
“That’s some sucka s—, it definitely hurt the team,” said Ward, playing in his third game since the death of his 1-year-old daughter. “He’s probably going to get cut soon.”
The Los Angeles Rams defeated San Francisco, 12-6, virtually eliminating the defending NFC-champion 49ers from playoff contention.
The 6-8 Niners have three games left and trail first-place Seattle (8-5) by 2 1/2 games. The loss to the Rams put San Francisco’s playoff hopes at less than 1%.
A representative of the National Football League Players Association declined to comment Friday.
The 49ers signed Campbell to a one-year deal in March as a placeholder for Greenlaw, who tore his left Achilles tendon during the Super Bowl.
Antonio Planas contributed.