Angry 49ers star at teammate De’Vondre Campbell for refusing to play in Rams loss

San Francisco 49ers stars were stunned to learn that one of their teammates had decided to quit the team in the middle of a rivalry game on Thursday Night Football.

De’Vondre Campbell, nine-year NFL veteran and linebacker, ddecided to leave the field in the third quarter of the race – told the coaches he just didn’t want to play anymore.

After the game, which the 49ers lost 12-6, a number of Campbell’s teammates expressed their anger and disappointment that one of them decided to sit out the game.

When asked if such a decision led to a disconnect in the locker room, Niners star tight end George Kittle said Campbell’s actions were his own and the team will try to overcome them.

“Not mistrust or disunity as a team. This is one guy who just decided not to play for his teammates,” Kittle told reporters after the game.

“It doesn’t make our offense look at each other like, ‘whoa, man, we’re falling apart,’ or the defense (saying) ‘hey, we’re falling apart.’

Niners players are furious with teammate De’Vondre Campbell after he left the team midway through a rivalry game against the Los Angeles Rams because he didn’t feel like playing

Niners players Charvarius Ward (L) and George Kittle (R) expressed their frustration

“It’s more of a guy making, as (cornerback Charvarius Ward) said, a selfish decision. and I’m with (Ward) on that. I’ve never been around anyone who has ever done that, and I hope to never be around anyone who does again.

Ward, who recently lost his young daughterwas the most vocal in his criticism of Campbell, telling reporters in the dressing room after the game: “He’s a professional, he’s been playing for a long time. I mean, if he didn’t want to play, he didn’t have to dress up. You know he could have told me before the game. So I feel like that was a nasty thing he did.

“It definitely hurt the team because you know Dee (Winters) went down and we needed a linebacker, I think (linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles) got hit as well.

“So for him to do that, I think that’s kind of a bummer for me. They’ll probably cut it soon, so that’s what it is.

Meanwhile, star and defensive leader Fred Warner said: “I don’t want to talk too much about it. I’ll keep it at home.

Campbell was used mostly as a backup for quarterback Dre Greenlaw — who tore his Achilles tendon while running down the field in Super Bowl LVIII. Greenlaw made his long-awaited return to the field on Thursday.

Campbell has been in the league since 2016, when he was drafted in the fourth round (115th overall) out of the University of Minnesota by the Atlanta Falcons.

He also had stops with the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers. With Green Bay, he earned professional first-team experience in 2021.