SANTA CLARA >> De’Vondre Campbell’s expulsion from the 49ers has come via an unpaid suspension for their final three games.
That discipline was announced Monday in a two-line statement from general manager John Lynch, as the 49ers (6-8) reconvened after Thursday’s dramatic 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which Campbell refused to come off the bench and play a single snap.
Prior to kickoff, defensive end Nick Bosa sensed something was amiss.
“In the locker room before the game, I heard some complaining, and I was going to say something,” Bosa recalled Monday. “I didn’t because I didn’t want to create more of a distraction, but I kind of felt it. Yeah, I kind of saw the foreshadowing and I definitely didn’t think it was going to result in that.”
Bosa and other teammates were stunned to learn after the game of Campbell’s actions and still undisclosed motive. Campbell walked to the locker room early in the fourth quarter, after he refused to fill in for a shorthanded linebacker unit in the wake of injuries to Dre Greenlaw (knee, Achilles) and Dee Winters (neck).
“That’s crazy to quit on your team while they’re at battle. I’d never be a part of that,” cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. “I have too much love for the game, too much pride to tell a coach I’m not going in a game. For him to do that, I just lost all respect.”
Campbell arrived as a respected, nine-year veteran who made All-Pro in 2021 with the Green Bay Packers. He has not commented publicly since going rogue Thursday.
By suspending him, the 49ers will avoid paying him $261,666 in salary and per-game bonuses, and they can try recouping $111,666 of his $3.35 million signing bonus for games missed, according to spotrac.com.
“We have suspended De’Vondre Campbell Sr. for three games due to conduct detrimental to the team. We will have no further comment on the matter,” Lynch’s statement read.
By the 49ers not releasing him or terminating his contract, Campbell cannot join another team, if the 31-year-old wanted to extend his career. “I’m sure he’s going to have a hard time finding somewhere else to go when you act like that,” Bosa added.
The 49ers resumed practicing Monday ahead of Sunday’s penultimate road game at the Miami Dolphins. Neither coach Kyle Shanahan nor Lynch spoke to the media.
Campbell’s situation appears more of an outlier than a signal of a fed-up locker room.
“This locker room is great. It’s always been great,” Bosa said. “But sometimes when you bring somebody who’s older in from a different place, you don’t know. He’s a good dude; it’s not like I didn’t like him. But, no, there are no issues in this locker room; very rarely.”
Lenoir said the 49ers welcomed Campbell “with open arms,” adding: “We used to be in the sauna after practice. Me talking to him, I never thought he’d quit.”
Campbell’s locker was cleared out, his nameplate removed, and no signs of his existence remained along that wall. Quarterback Brandon Allen and guard Nick Zakelj flanked Campbell’s locker. Allen said he coexisted well with Campbell and did not anticipate Thursday’s scene.
Lynch came down from his eighth-floor suite to confront and dispatch Campbell from the field, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer in a Sunday report.
Shanahan, in Friday’s conference call with reporters, said of Campbell: “His actions from the game, it’s not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still expect to be a part of our team.”
Campell joined the 49ers in March as a free agent on a one-year, $5 million deal. He served as the 49ers’ starting weakside linebacker until Greenlaw’s season debut Thursday night. Campbell was further demoted behind Winters as the No. 3 strongside linebacker. Winters sustained a neck injury in the first half, and Greenlaw exited in the third quarter with pain in his left knee, the same leg in which he tore his Achilles 10 months earlier in the Super Bowl.
Greenlaw was not seen participating at the start of Monday’s practice, nor was left tackle Trent Williams, who’s missed the past four games with an ankle issue but has not been ruled out for the season. Working on the side were running back Isaac Guerendo (foot), safety Malik Mustapha (chest) and left tackle Jaylon Moore.
Team-issued suspensions are rare. In 2012, running back Brandon Jacobs was suspended the final three regular-season games and released Dec. 31, having voiced frustration for months over his role and ultimately going on a social-media rant about “rotting away” in “by far the worst year I’ve ever had.” Jacobs returned to the New York Giants the next season to finish out his career.
Pro Bowl update
Bosa, tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk lead all NFC players at their respective positions with a week left in fans’ Pro Bowl voting. Juszczyk has been a perennial selection since 2016; Kittle is vying for his sixth honor, and Bosa his fifth.
Warner is seventh among all linebackers (fourth in NFC), and Williams ranks sixth among NFL and NFC offensive tackles. Brock Purdy is not among the voters’ top-10 quarterbacks.