49ers stars blast De’Vondre Campbell for quitting on team midway through game on TNF: “Gonna get cut soon”
The San Francisco 49ers’ playoff hopes took a massive blow on Thursday Night Football, as they lost 12-6 to NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, and fell to 6-8. As dismayed the 49ers’ players were about the result, it paled in comparison to their disappointment about De’Vondre Campbell exiting the game in the third quarter.
The linebacker did not suffer any injury but walked off to the locker room while his team was engaged in a nail-biting contest against the Rams. When Charvarius Ward was asked about Campbell’s untimely exit from the game during his post-game interview, the defensive back did not mince words and lambasted the linebacker. He said:
“If [De’vondre Campbell] did not want to play, he should not have dressed out and they could have told him. So I feel like there was some sucker s**t. That did definitely hurt… [He’s] probably gonna get cut soon.”
Tight end George Kittle also called out Campbell and had some choice words for him. He said:
“It’s very dumb, very stupid, very immature…. I don’t see how you can do that to your teammates… I’ve never been around anybody that’s done that, and I hope I’m never around anyone that does that again.”
Why did De’vondre Campbell walk off?
In his post-game press conference, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked why De’vondre Campbell walked off the field. He explained:
“[Campbell] said he didn’t want to play today. He did when I asked him why he didn’t want to go in.”
Campbell, who had started 12 games and played in all 13 this season, was left off the starting lineup for the game against the Rams in favor of Dre Greenlaw, who was marking his return from the Achilles injury that he suffered in the Super Bowl earlier this year.
However, his comeback didn’t last long, as he did not return to the field in the second half. Shanahan attributed it to fatigue and soreness. The head coach turned to Campbell and asked him to fill in for Greenlaw, but the linebacker refused and walked off.
At the time of writing, the 49ers hadn’t announced any disciplinary action against the veteran. However, a punishment is forthcoming sooner rather than later.
