Kyle Shanahan Says De'Vondre Campbell Left 49ers' Loss Early: 'He Didn't Want to Play'

The veteran linebacker walked off the sidelines and into the locker room in the third quarter.
Campbell entered Thursday night as the 49ers' second-leading tackler this season.
Campbell entered Thursday night as the 49ers' second-leading tackler this season. / Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Thursday night that veteran linebacker De'Vondre Campbell walked off the sidelines in the third quarter of their 12–6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium.

Campbell, the veteran linebacker who started 12 games this year, told his coach he "didn't want to play today" before walking to the locker room in the middle of the game.

Shanahan said he wanted Campbell to go in during the third quarter for Dre Greenlaw, but the linebacker refused. Asked whether the team would now cut Campbell, Shanahan said they would "figure something out" and told reporters they didn't need to talk about him anymore.

Campbell played eight seasons for three different teams before signing a one-year contract with the 49ers in March. He entered the game against the Rams as the 49ers' second-leading tackler but was pushed to the bench Thursday in light of Greenlaw's return to the field.



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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.