Shanahan describes how players reacted to 49ers moving on from Campbell originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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SANTA CLARA – Following the 49ers’ announcement that linebacker De’Vondre Campbell had been suspended for the final three games of the season, his locker was emptied and his name tag removed.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that it was not difficult for the team to move on to Campbell, who declined to play against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
Shanahan said he liked how the team responded to the situation.
“They did a great job. It’s how you would expect a team to be,” Shanahan said.
The 49ers’ depth at linebacker was tested against the Rams. And with Dre Greenlaw sitting out the second half due to knee discomfort and second-year player Dee Winters suffering a neck injury, the 49ers turned to Campbell.
But Campbell, who started twelve of the first thirteen games of the season for the 49ers, defied the coaching staff and refused to participate in the game.
Afterwards, tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward criticized Campbell for deciding not to play. On Monday, defensive end Nick Bosa and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir were among the players critical of Campbell, a nine-year NFL veteran.
“We didn’t see each other this weekend, so I didn’t talk about it much after the game,” Shanahan said. “But I could hear from their comments how some of them felt.
“We discussed it at Monday’s meeting for about 30 seconds, and it’s pretty easy to move forward.”
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