De’Vondre Campbell (Photo via Amazon prime)
De’Vondre Campbell’s behavior single-handedly made an already tough night for the San Francisco 49ers even worse.
In a rain-soaked stadium, the team went out on Thursday night, barely hanging on in the playoff race, and desperately needed a win against the Los Angeles Rams to stay afloat.
In the second half of a tight game, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell decided he would no longer play.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told media after the game that the nine-year veteran, who had started 12 of 13 games this season before Thursday night, told the team he didn’t want to play and promptly left the field.
Campbell went to the locker room in the second half.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan said.
It seems the behavior of De’Vondre Campbell could’ve been predicted just based on his social media behavior.
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Campbell played football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2013 and was having doubts about his future career.
He was digging how he looked and thought he should quit football altogether.
In 2013, resurfaced tweets show that De’Vondre Campbell was seriously thinking of quitting football to become an underwear model.
George Kittle Rips De’Vondre Campbell For His Behavior
What has happened to the 49ers?
Less than a year ago, the San Francisco 49ers were on top of the world, preparing to play in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs are still great, while the Niners are looking like a shell of themselves.
Things only got worse on Thursday night when linebacker De’Vondre Campbell told coaches he “didn’t want to play today” and left for the locker room in the third quarter.
Campbell’s teammates also had a lot to say about his refusal to enter the game.
Tight end George Kittle said he doesn’t know how someone could do that to their teammates.
“I think that’s ignorant,” Kittle said of the situation. “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.”
VIDEO: George Kittle Unloaded On “Stupid” De’Vondre Campbell For Quitting On His Team & Walking Off The Field In The Middle Of 49ers’ Loss To Rams
George Kittle (Photo via YouTube)
George Kittle is not happy with De’Vondre Campbell.
It was bad enough that the San Francisco 49ers had to deal with losing 12-6 to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night, but they also had to deal with a multitude of questions involving while their teammate left the field because he didn’t want to play in the game.
Speaking to reporters after the game, 49ers tight end George Kittle called Campbell’s actions “dumb” and many other things during a heated conversation.
“I’m a leader on the team, and if that is something that is being a distraction on the sideline, I would’ve loved to voice my own opinion in the moment,” George Kittle said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
The tight end continued: “And we’re past that moment. So, it doesn’t matter what I wish I could have said or wish I could have done, but I don’t like distractions on the sideline. 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.”
“It’s one person making a selfish decision. I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.”
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Before Thursday Night Football, De’Vondre Campbell had played in all prior 13 regular-season games, with 12 starts. He was replacing Dre Greenlaw, who returned on Thursday night for the first time since tearing his Achilles in Super Bowl LVIII.
It appears he was not too thrilled with being demoted upon his return, and he chose to deal with it this way.
What makes matters worse is that the 9ers lost linebackers Dre Greenlaw (knee) and Dee Winters (neck) to injuries during the game.
Some 49ers teammates believe Campbell won’t have a job in their locker room moving forward.
He entered Thursday night as the 49ers’ second-leading tackler this season, logging 79 tackles while playing 90% of the defensive snaps.
Did De’Vondre Campbell End His Own Career?
You won’t find too many locker rooms in the NFL that will tolerate a player quitting on the team.
De’Vondre Campbell, who signed a one-year deal with the 49ers in March, started 12 games at linebacker this season.
The one time he does not get to start, he ultimately throws a tantrum and walks off the field after refusing to play.
Going forward, he may end up getting cut from the 49ers and quite possibly may have ended his own career in the process.
