San Francisco 49ers linebacker DeVondre Campbell refused to play in Thursday night's game against the Rams due to starter Dre Greenlaw going down with an injury.
Now, his (presumably soon-to-be former) teammates and coaches are slamming him.
Campbell was a starter for San Francisco, but was relegated to the reserves when linebacker Dre Greenlaw returned from injury in last year's Super Bowl. But in Greenlaw's first game back on Thursday night, he went down with an injury again. The 49ers turned to Campbell to replace Greenlaw, but he refused to play in the game and left the field.
After the game, 49ers defensive back Chavarrias Ward had a variety of words for Campbell.
“He's a professional. He was playing. for a long time” Ward said, via KPIX's Matt Lively. “If he didn't want to play, he shouldn't have dressed up. He could have told them that before the game. I feel like what he did was terrible. Dee definitely hurt the team. [Winters] It went down. I think they needed a linebacker. [Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles] I was also beaten. In my opinion, it would be selfish of him to do that. It'll probably be cut soon, so that's okay. ”
Ward is probably right about Campbell's future with the Niners. Refusal to participate in a match usually results in automatic ejection. Earlier this year, Ravens safety Eddie Jackson refused to play in a game and was cut shortly after.
As of this writing, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has not said how the team will discipline Campbell.
