San Francisco linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter Thursday night’s game in the third quarter after losing his starting job when Dre Greenlaw returned from an injury.

Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of defensive snaps but was benched for San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to the Rams after Greenlaw came back for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl.

Greenlaw had eight tackles in the first half but left the game in the third quarter with soreness in his Achilles tendon. That’s when Campbell refused to enter the game.

“He said he didn’t want to play today,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the loss, which left the 49ers (6-8) on the brink of playoff elimination.

Shanahan said he has never seen that before in his coaching career and said the team will “figure out something” on how to deal with it going forward.

Campbell walked to the locker room, leaving his teammates bewildered and angry.

“He’s a professional,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play he shouldn’t have dressed out. He could have told them that before the game. I feel like that was some selfish (stuff) that he did. It definitely hurt the team. Dre went down and we needed a linebacker. ... For him to do that, that’s some selfish (stuff) to me in my opinion. He’s probably going get cut soon.”

SAINTS QB UPDATE

The Saints have decided to start second-year quarterback Jake Haener against the Commanders on Sunday.

The decision indicates the Saints have deemed starter Derek Carr too injured to play this week.

Carr was concussed and injured his left, non-throwing hand during the Saints’ 14-11 victory over the Giants last Sunday.

On Wednesday, interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi said he could not rule out Carr being able to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol and opting to try to play through his hand injury. Rizzi said Carr does not need surgery and that his playing status would be “week to week” through the end of the season.

But Carr did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. Haener and rookie Spencer Rattler split first-team snaps.

Haener is a 2023 fourth-round draft choice out of Fresno State who is slated to make his first career NFL start this weekend. He has passed for 177 yards and one TD without an interception in seven career appearances — all this season.

Rattler, a fifth-round draft choice out of South Carolina, has 571 yards and a TD passing with two interceptions in three career starts while Carr was sidelined by an oblique injury from Weeks 6 through 8.

The Saints (5-8) remain narrowly alive for a postseason spot after winning three of four games under Rizzi, who replaced Dennis Allen after a seven-game skid that ran from Weeks 3 through 9.

Also

The Dolphins released wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., ending the former Pro Bowler’s short tenure with the team. Beckham had missed the past two days of practice for what the team called personal reasons.

Jaguars tight end Evan Engram will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. Engram, who has 47 receptions for 365 yards and a touchdown this season, will be placed on injured reserve.

The Chiefs opened the practice window for wide receiver Marquise Brown, who has been on the injured list since hurting his shoulder in their preseason opener. Brown will have a 21-day window to practice before the Chiefs must decide whether to activate him, though his return could come much sooner than that. Brown will not play Sunday but he could return the following week.