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Kyle Shanahan reveals 49ers LB De'Vondre Campbell refused to play in second half vs. Rams

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz12/13/24NickSchultz_7
San Francisco 49ers LB De'Vondre Campbell
© Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

San Francisco 49ers LB De’Vondre Campbell refused to play in the second half and left the stadium, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed. He left the game in the third quarter.

Campbell dressed for the game and played in the first half of the 12-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. As the 49ers came back out for the third quarter, he refused to go back in.

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“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan said in his postgame press conference. “He did when I asked him, ‘Why don’t you want to go in?’ … In the third quarter.”

As for what Campbell’s future would be with the 49ers, Shanahan didn’t have specifics at the time of his press conference. He said the team would assess things later.

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“I don’t know,” Shanahan said when asked if San Francisco would release Campbell. “We’ll figure out something.”

Multiple 49ers players also addressed the situation with after the game. Charvarius Ward discussed things head-on during his media session and said Campbell is “probably gonna get cut.”

“He’s a professional,” Ward said. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out. He could’ve told them that before the game. I feel like there was some sucker shit that he did. It definitely hurt the team because D went down, and we needed a linebacker. … For him to do that, that’s some sucker stuff to me, in my opinion. He’s probably gonna get cut soon. It is what it is with that.”

De’Vondre Campbell is in his third season with the 49ers after three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, one with the Arizona Cardinals and four with the Atlanta Falcons. Through 13 games, he has 79 tackles to go with three tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.

The 49ers fell to 6-8 on the season with a 12-9 loss to the Rams Thursday night. An already uphill battle in the NFC West got even tougher as they battle multiple injuries, and they’ll look to bounce back next time out against the Miami Dophins