De’Vondre Campbell’s faces an uncertain future after quitting on his team during Thursday Night Football.
The San Francisco 49ers linebacker was benched in favor of returning All-Pro Dre Greenlaw.
Kyle Shanahan turned to Campbell when Greenlaw went down in the third quarter of a 12-6 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams.
But the frustrated 31-year-old put a towel over his head and walked down the sideline into the locker room, leaving his coaches, teammates, and fans stunned.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan confirmed. “That was in the third quarter.”
“We’ll figure out something. I don’t know that right now,” he added when asked whether Campbell had a future on the team.
Teammates were shocked by the events during a defeat that left the 49ers’ postseason hopes on the brink.
“He’s probably gonna get cut soon,” Charvarius Ward said in the locker room.
“He’s a professional. He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out.
“He could’ve told them that before the game. I feel like there was some sucker s*** that he did.
“It definitely hurt the team because D went down, and we needed a linebacker. For him to do that, that’s some sucker stuff to me, in my opinion.”
“I don’t wanna say too much on it. I’ll keep it in house,” added Fred Warner.
Tight end George Kittle was angry.
“I’ve never been around anybody that’s done that, and I hope I’m never around anyone that does that again,” he blasted.
Amazon Prime pundits Richard Sherman, Andrew Whitworth, and Ryan Fitzpatrick said Campbell’s actions were inexcusable.
The situation was compared to a shirtless Antonio Brown infamously leaving the field during a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game – he never played another down.
Late cornerback Vontae Davis left a Buffalo Bills game during halftime and retired shortly after.
Shanahan will become the 49ers longest-serving head coach ever if he sees out his contract, which ends in 2027.
But after Thursday’s metldown, fans think it is time the franchise moved on from the $14million-a-year boss after he failed to deliver a Super Bowl.
“That whole franchise is COOKED,” posted one on X.
“This locker room is melting down wtf,” added another.
“Kyle is washed,” a third wrote.
“Yikes. Shanahan needs to go,” a fourth commented.
The 49ers’ travel to the Miami Dolphins on December 22 bottom of the AFC West with a 6-8 record.
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