SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said linebacker De'Vondre Campbell won't be part of the 49ers moving forward after he refused to enter a game after losing his starting job.
Shanahan said the team is still working through the options of how to deal with Campbell, who walked to the locker room in the middle of a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night when he refused to enter the game.
“His actions from the game are not something you can do to your team or teammates and still expect to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said Friday. “We're working through the semantics right now, but we'll handle the situation appropriately."
Shanahan said Campbell won't be part of the team for the final three weeks. Teams have the ability to suspend players up to four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Niners also could just waive Campbell outright, which would allow him potentially to be claimed or signed by another team.
Campbell signed a $5 million, one-year contract with San Francisco in March.
Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of defensive snaps for the 49ers but was benched Thursday night after Dre Greenlaw came back for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl.
When the 49ers wanted to put Campbell in the game in the third quarter because Greenlaw was sidelined with soreness in his Achilles tendon, Campbell refused, something Shanahan said has never happened to him in his time as a head coach or an assistant in the NFL. Shanahan said Friday that he has not gotten any explanation from Campbell on why he didn't play.
Campbell then walked off the field with a towel draped over his head and went into the locker room before the end of the game with the Rams that almost ended the 49ers' playoff hopes. Shanahan said he didn't send Campbell to the locker room and didn't know why he left the field.
“Once I found out he wasn't playing, I moved on to people we could count on,” he said.
Campbell's decision left his teammates angered and bewildered.
"He’s a professional,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said after the game. “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 before the game. So I feel like that was selfish. It definitely hurt the team. Dre went down and we needed a linebacker. ... For him to do that, that’s sucker (stuff) in my opinion. He’s probably going to get cut soon.”
Ward is one of several 49ers who has played through injury or personal tragedy during a trying season for San Francisco. Ward’s 1-year-old daughter died on Oct. 28 but he has returned and played the last three games for San Francisco.
Tight end George Kittle called Campbell's actions “stupid” and “immature.”
“It’s one person making a selfish decision,” Kittle said. “I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.”
The 31-year-old Campbell signed in the offseason with San Francisco after being cut by Green Bay in March. He had been an All-Pro in 2021 for the Packers but his play fell off the last two seasons in Green Bay.
That led to Campbell complaining on social media that he was misused by Green Bay. He expressed excitement about being with a new team but he never got back to his All-Pro level. Campbell had a few bright moments in San Francisco this season but struggled frequently with tackling and in coverage.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
San Francisco 49ers' De'Vondre Campbell walks to the locker room during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
San Francisco 49ers' De'Vondre Campbell walks to the locker room during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
San Francisco 49ers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell jogs onto the field before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
San Francisco 49ers' De'Vondre Campbell walks to the locker room during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than 10 minutes was all it took for a large pile of toys donated by the White House staff to disappear as Jill Biden and children from military families sorted them into boxes as part of the annual Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign for the less fortunate.
The White House is a longtime supporter of the program, which has been helping families for 77 years, said Lt. Gen. Leonard Anderson IV, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
“We're making a significant impact right here in the nation's capital, where these toys will go to kids in need,” he said at a White House event hosted by the first lady.
Last year, the program delivered over 25 million toys to more than 10 million children nationwide, he said. “This year we think we're going to set another record, so we're really excited,” he said.
Jill Biden told several dozen military children who sat in front of her on the floor of the East Room facing two large glittering Christmas trees flanking the doorway that they are loved. Her father and late son served in the military.
“If you only remember one thing for the holidays, after all the wrapping paper is cleaned up, let it be this: You are loved,” she said. “There are so many people who care about you, from your family and your friends, from your teachers and your classmates, to the president and me.”
“And the best thing that we can do with that love is to let it overflow, to share it with others who might really need it,” she added.
After her brief remarks, the first lady asked the children: “Are you guys ready to get sorting?” And off they went toward the large pile of dolls, stuffed animals, sports gear, vehicles, books, puzzles and other items, including a copy of “Delaware Opoly” — a Monopoly-style board game themed after President Joe Biden's home state.
First lady Jill Biden sorts toys as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden speaks as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. At right is Lt. Gen. Leonard Anderson, Commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden laughs during a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Lt. Gen. Leonard Anderson, Commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, speaks as first lady Jill Biden listens during a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Children of Marine Corps families sort toys during a Toys for Tots event with first lady Jill Biden in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden sorts toys as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden speaks as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden speaks as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. At right is Lt. Gen. Leonard Anderson, Commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden sorts toys as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden sorts toys as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden sorts toys as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden arrives with children of Marine Corps families as she hosts a Toys for Tots event in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First lady Jill Biden helps to sort toys as she hosts a Toys for Tots event with Marine Corps families in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
