Kyle Shanahan revealed that De'Vondre Campbell didnt want to play in the 3rd quarter.

As someone who works for a very profitable company that everyone here has heard of and is currently disfavored by Wall Street, with lots of people far from retirement age, I third this statement.

Lots of very hard working, highly competent people, with bootstraps and gumption and a firm handshake and all of those things who will be fired so that the profits can reach the levels they were at a couple years ago.
Yeah, NFL and corporate world isn't a lot different. Players make a bunch of money and get older they don't feel like they need to work if they don't want to, just like people close to retirement. Just as in the NFL some vets get paid too much for the teams to keep them, the same happens in the corporate world. First people that get cut in corporate world the longest term, highest paid people.

Also like the NFL they will likely rehire at some point but with a younger less experienced person who will demand less. There is no loyalty anymore for longevity. Used to be that if you stuck with the same company you're whole career it would benefit you in the long run. Now they give you such small raises the only way to get a good raise is change jobs and then being one of the higher paid people puts a target on your back when cuts need to be made. It's the same in the NFL as it is for the rest of us, only differences is a lot of NFL players are rich.
 

 

Have to admit that at least from the perspective of being a Gopher fan, this is pretty disappointing.
It's not like they asked him to go out on the field and do something abhorrent like they did to Billy Stemhovilichski in the great Canadian hockey movie Power Play.
For those who don't know the story, and yes, have 10 minutes to kill:

 

Have to admit that at least from the perspective of being a Gopher fan, this is pretty disappointing.
It's not like they asked him to go out on the field and do something abhorrent like they did to Billy Stemhovilichski in the great Canadian hockey movie Power Play.
For those who don't know the story, and yes, have 10 minutes to kill:

It is disappointing to see an ex-Gopher do this. I like to think our alumni tend to be on the good side of the team mate/character end of the spectrum. I get the frustration and he's probably not long for the NFL given his age but IMO, you siged a contract to play football so you gotta play if you're able to. Just like my bosses hired me and I agreed to do what I do. Always should give your best effort regardless of the situation and not needing the money is not a good excuse.
 

When I coached we had 3 rules that we always gave at the very first practice. 1) Have fun 2) Play hard 3) Never -ever- quit.

One thing he will learn is by doing this he will tarnish his entire football career. 5-10 years from now he will not be known for any of his great plays, great worker or leader, or any other good qualities, he will be the "the guy who quit on his team in the middle of a game" (MNF at that!)

He will have to live with that but I would add to everyone else on here that you never want to leave like that - you want to go out with dignity and class if at all possible. That's the right way to do it, no matter what the situation is.
Mine were very similar: (1) Have fun! (2) Be on time. (Be here every day) (3) Never embarrass the team/school or your teammates.
I'd say he messed up number 3 pretty badly.
 


Mine were very similar: (1) Have fun! (2) Be on time. (Be here every day) (3) Never embarrass the team/school or your teammates.
I'd say he messed up number 3 pretty badly.
Yeah, putting it out there that we have quitters on our team is a really bad look for the team. You can tolerate a lot of behavior on a team but being a quitter is not one of them.
 

Then there is the thought as a coach....why is Shanahan sharing that information with anybody?
I'm not the messenger to the media with that information, if I'm Shanahan.
It is a locker room issue.
 

Not saying it's okay but can understand why he did it. Signed with 49ers to possibly chase a Super Bowl at end of career. Knows they are done and starter came back so why not get cut and become an unrestricted free agent. I'm sure a playoff team in need of a LB would sign him or for depth.
 

Not saying it's okay but can understand why he did it. Signed with 49ers to possibly chase a Super Bowl at end of career. Knows they are done and starter came back so why not get cut and become an unrestricted free agent. I'm sure a playoff team in need of a LB would sign him or for depth.
I wouldn't touch him unless you're really desperate. Even then I'm not sure. Walking off the field in the middle of the game indicates to me his heart isn't in it anymore.
 



I won't be condemning Campbell without hearing his version of the matter. SF has had a number of issues with personnel over the last several years and Campbell was of high character here at Minnesota, and at Green Bay and his other NFL stops.
 


It's odd that he played 90% of the snaps up until last night, then doesn't play at all in the first half.
SF coaching staff handled the situation as bad as De'Vondre did.
 

It's odd that he played 90% of the snaps up until last night, then doesn't play at all in the first half.
SF coaching staff handled the situation as bad as De'Vondre did.
The usual starter Dre Greenlaw came back from injury, then left with knee soreness.
 



The usual starter Dre Greenlaw came back from injury, then left with knee soreness.
I get that Greenlaw was back, but Campbell was #2 in tackles for them up to that game, why would he not see the field at all in the first half? He should have been in a rotation with Greenlaw or been in on certain down and distanced situations during the first half. I can see why Campbell was po'd, but he should have handled it differently
 

If this was about mental health or something like that I don't think the coach and teammates would be criticizing him publicly.
How many people do you know that would up and quit during the middle of the day at their job without having some kind of mental health issue?

In that moment, he was stressed, tired, angry, whatever.

No different than having depression which means you are stressed, tired, and angry.

Dude showed up to the gym every day at 6a for months on a team that tried to replace him, made his money by running full speed into 200-lbs RBs and chasing some of the fastest people in the world around a football field, improved throughout the year, got replaced anyway, and then when his replacement got hurt, was asked to go step in and play in a system he’s not familiar with on a snakebit team, in a situation that was in absolutely no way going to benefit his career and decided he was done.

Does he need to manage his mental better? Yes. But he’s human and we’ve all been there. Very few people have not quit a job at some point in their lives.

Not going to judge him for it. He was a great gopher and an all pro. One loud moment at the end of his career doesn’t define that for me.

Also, he looks awful (like physically, just from pictures) so who knows what’s going on with him.
 

If that was the case he should have had that conversation before the game so they could have put someone else active for the game. They only get 48 spots on gameday and he wasted one at a position they were already short at.
In a perfect world that's how it would be done. It's not a perfect world.
 

How many people do you know that would up and quit during the middle of the day at their job without having some kind of mental health issue?

In that moment, he was stressed, tired, angry, whatever.

No different than having depression which means you are stressed, tired, and angry.

Dude showed up to the gym every day at 6a for months on a team that tried to replace him, made his money by running full speed into 200-lbs RBs and chasing some of the fastest people in the world around a football field, improved throughout the year, got replaced anyway, and then when his replacement got hurt, was asked to go step in and play in a system he’s not familiar with on a snakebit team, in a situation that was in absolutely no way going to benefit his career and decided he was done.

Does he need to manage his mental better? Yes. But he’s human and we’ve all been there. Very few people have not quit a job at some point in their lives.

Not going to judge him for it. He was a great gopher and an all pro. One loud moment at the end of his career doesn’t define that for me.

Also, he looks awful (like physically, just from pictures) so who knows what’s going on with him.
Then that seems like a very shitty organization to play for because the coach and several players didn't hold back at all.
 


Obviously we don't have all the details but based on the way the team and some of his teammates have reacted I am guessing this isn't the first time Campbell has been an issue this year.

49ers seem determined to make it hurt financially for him as opposed to just cutting him loose.

I hope Campbell is ok and this isn't a CTE thing or something that will end badly for him as we have seen with other NFL players. But he did the one thing you just can't do in sports which is quit on your team in the middle of a game.
 

Lots of certainty in speculation, but who out here really knows what's going on in his life?
 

It's odd that he played 90% of the snaps up until last night, then doesn't play at all in the first half.
SF coaching staff handled the situation as bad as De'Vondre did.
Dre Greenlaw tore his achilles in the Super Bowl. Plays the same position as Campbell. Campbell signs a one year deal. Greenlaw comes back. Campbell doesn't play.

All in all, makes a lot of sense.
 

Not saying it's okay but can understand why he did it. Signed with 49ers to possibly chase a Super Bowl at end of career. Knows they are done and starter came back so why not get cut and become an unrestricted free agent. I'm sure a playoff team in need of a LB would sign him or for depth.
Easy solution is to do the same thing that OBJ did the day after Campbell quit. All you have to do is walk into the front office and ask to be cut. Dolphins mutually parted ways with OBJ. OBJ is free to sign with anyone.
 

Man, I get the urge to defend him because he was a former Gopher and a great player but this is the NFL. When the bell rings you answer it, just like the other 40 guys in uniform are expected to do. Seems like his mental health was just fine until this week when Greenlaw came back from injury and he was removed from the starting lineup.
 

I get that Greenlaw was back, but Campbell was #2 in tackles for them up to that game, why would he not see the field at all in the first half? He should have been in a rotation with Greenlaw or been in on certain down and distanced situations during the first half. I can see why Campbell was po'd, but he should have handled it differently
He signed a contract with San Fran knowing one of their best players was Greenlaw.

Why should he have been in the rotation? San Fran had given up a total of 3 points. There were almost no long drives in the entire 1st half - the Rams punted 6 times in the first half.

He wasn't playing because he wasn't playing very good this year, the starter returned from injury, and the defense was playing really well on his return.
 


Man, I get the urge to defend him because he was a former Gopher and a great player but this is the NFL. When the bell rings you answer it, just like the other 40 guys in uniform are expected to do. Seems like his mental health was just fine until this week when Greenlaw came back from injury and he was removed from the starting lineup.
Yeah, hopefully we don't find out later that he is dealing with some sort of severe mental health issue but he is getting rightfully blasted for quitting on his team during the middle of a game. Most of the players/former players who I have seen interviewed all have a similar take, if you suit up you play.

The one thing you just can't do is quit on your team during a game. Decent chance this is the end of his career and unfortunately it will be something that people remember about him because it just doesn't happen very often where a player quits on his team mid-game.
 

Yeah, hopefully we don't find out later that he is dealing with some sort of severe mental health issue but he is getting rightfully blasted for quitting on his team during the middle of a game. Most of the players/former players who I have seen interviewed all have a similar take, if you suit up you play.

The one thing you just can't do is quit on your team during a game. Decent chance this is the end of his career and unfortunately it will be something that people remember about him because it just doesn't happen very often where a player quits on his team mid-game.
Reminds me of the Senior Goalie at Farmington who had a beef with the coach and took a puck from the back boards and scored on himself, then skated off the ice and quit.
 

The usual starter Dre Greenlaw came back from injury, then left with knee soreness.
I know that they (the 49'ers) have medical personnel. With that said, I find it odd that they wouldn't ease in a player that was out nine games(?) due to injury. It could have been a win/ win to sub Campbell in and out in quarters one and two.
 




Top Bottom