Guess I Don't Want Him on my Team.
The player who walked. Still walking
Happy Friday. You made it — again. Nice.
This won’t be the most important component of the 49ers’ startling nosedive below the mediocrity line, achieved mere months after appearing in the Super Bowl. But it could be the most unintentionally symbolic.
On Thursday night in Santa Clara, a linebacker named De’Vondre Campbell just plain refused to play. That’s exactly what happened. The coaches asked Campbell to take the field, seeing as they were down to their last healthy linebacker and really needed the help, and he said no.
"He said he didn't want to play today," coach Kyle Shanahan mumbled afterward.
This occurred in the third quarter on a wet, rainy night at Levi’s Stadium. A little while later, Campbell just walked off the field, into the tunnel and up to the locker room. After the game, which San Francisco lost miserably to the Rams, 12-6, people said this and that and whatnot. By Friday, The Athletic was reporting that Campbell’s time with the 49ers had ended.
What the heck? Not only is Campbell a pure veteran, but he knew the likely fallout of his action. He had been a starter all season purely as a place-hold for another linebacker, Dre Greenlaw, a fact that was no secret to Campbell or anyone else. When Greenlaw finally made his season debut last night, Campbell was pushed to backup status.
Safe to say he didn’t love it. But as the game progressed, Greenlaw’s knee began to hurt, and another linebacker developed a neck issue. The 49ers needed Campbell to come in and do the job he’d been doing all year. His feelings were hurt, so he said no.
Players have done this before, even NFL players. The Ravens suspended receiver Dionte Johnson one game earlier this year for just that, refusing to come into a game. (He was pouting about playing time, too.) But Campbell’s action truly put a bow on the 49ers’ wretched run through this season.
They’re 6-8 and sinking. They are absolutely beat up, with injuries to key players all over the place. Their offensive line is getting shredded. Christian McCaffrey is out. Deebo Samuel complained on social media that he wasn’t getting his number called enough, then dropped a wide-open pass across the middle against the Rams that easily could have resulted in a touchdown — in a game the 49ers lost by six points.
Complete breakdown. They’re sore, hurt, grumpy and losing. I might get hammered for saying this, but it makes you appreciate the Chiefs’ incredible consistency of contention over the past decade plus.
Kansas City was just in the Super Bowl this year, too, and it’s 12-1 so far. Put whatever qualifiers you want to on that, since the Chiefs have enjoyed some unreal escapes, but the record is the record.
Shanahan, the eighth-year 49ers coach, cannot see that sort of result with a telescope. He was just out of juice during Thursday’s post-game. He’s got no answers, other than to grind to the finish so the franchise can get out of 2024. And he just watched a player literally walk off the field, never to return. Like I said: symbolic.
The dog ate my football. My little brother flushed my cup down the toilet. The dollar signs blinded my eyes.