Whitner explains that the 49ers should punish Campbell for refusing to play

Whitner explains that the 49ers should punish Campbell for refusing to play. The original appearance appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

NBC Sports Bay Area analysts Donte Whitner and Rod Brooks didn’t hold back on 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell after he refused to play in San Francisco’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.

“Cut him,” Whitner, who played 11 NFL seasons, said on “49ers Postgame Live” after San Francisco’s 12-6 loss. “That’s my opinion. Delete him. He hasn’t played well all season, and then you get a near All-Pro linebacker back who you know is recovering from an injury and you know they’re going to put him in the starting lineup.” Lineup, you know you’re going to be his replacement and then you tell the coaches I don’t want to play today, I would have thrown you out on game day.

“We don’t feel sorry for you. You’re a professional, you didn’t do your job and you saw the clear difference from Dre Greenlaw in the game why they played him over Campbell. So cut it off. This is for. Kyle Shanahan, this is for the 49ers organization. You canceled this guy. There’s no way he’ll stay on the team tomorrow.

Campbell, who appeared in all 13 49ers games this season, did not play on Thursday as Greenlaw made his season debut after a lengthy rehab from a torn Achilles tendon.

But after the game, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan explained what happened.

“He said he didn’t want to play today,” Shanahan said.

Brooks expressed his thoughts on the situation.

“That was bullshit,” Brooks said. “That’s awful. He left his team. He left his team. That’s the worst thing you can do.”

The 49ers signed Campbell, a nine-year NFL veteran, to a one-year, $5 million deal this offseason after he spent the last three years with the Green Bay Packers.

In addition to Shanahan, 49ers tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward were also unhappy with Campbell after the loss.

While it’s unclear whether the 49ers will cut Campbell, both his tenure in San Francisco and the team’s playoff hopes appear to be hanging in the balance.