EXCLUSIVE
‘Black mark on his name’ – NFL star reveals how insolent De’Vondre Campbell can salvage career after quitting on 49ers
De'Vondre Campbell committed a cardinal sin for any team player.
Quitting on your teammates.
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The San Francisco 49ers linebacker broke a golden rule on this week's Thursday Night Football, refusing to play in the third quarter of the 49ers' 12-6 loss to NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams.
Several players addressed the remarkable situation after the defeat, which all but ends the Niners' playoff hopes and mounts increasing pressure on head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Veteran tight end George Kittle admitted, "I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that", while San Francisco cornerback Charvarius Ward made the stunning admission that Campbell was "probably gonna' get cut soon."
Former NFL player Jason Bell echoed Kittle and Ward's sentiments, revealing he'd have been 'highly upset' if one of his former teammates quit on his club mid-game.
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"Charvarius Ward had an interview after the game and he was highly upset and that's exactly how I would feel," the former Cowboys, Texans, and Giants defensive back exclusively told 888betvisa-slots.com.
Campbell had played in all prior 13 regular-season games, with 12 starts, as the replacement for Dre Greenlaw, who returned to the stating lineup on Thursday night after suffering an Achilles injury in last season's Super Bowl.
"I get that Campbell was a starter and he might have been frustrated having to sit down because Dre Greenlaw was coming back off an injury, but you can't do that," added Bell.
"Once you do that, you have such a black mark on your career, wherever else you go, you're going to be defined by that no matter how frustrated you are.
"If you don't have an injury, you got to go in the game."
Bell went on to say he'd seen something similar happen to teams in the past -- although not ones he was a part of -- and it's usually borne out of frustration.
Late Buffalo Bills cornerback Vontae Davis infamously p🌄ulled himself out of a ga♉me in 2018 and virtually retired on the spot.
In 2022, eccentric Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown stripped off his top and danc🍃ed off the field against the New York Jets♈ in what would be his parting gift to the NFL.
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Campbell is the latest star to pack it up in the middle of a game, but Bell thinks the veteran LB could have bee🎀n way smarter about it.
"Players are just upset at their role or the circumstance or the situation, whatever it might be, but you still can't do that.
"It's tough and you could be smarter about it.
"You could go in and say, 'I'm not feeling right', or whatever -- you don't have to just deny your team your skill-set by not going in."
However, while many - including Ward - expect Campbell to be cut for his insolence, Bell thinks there's still one way back for him.
"They need depth. That's the reason he's there," he told talkSPORT.
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"Maybe he won't [be cut], maybe it's a situation where he gets up in front of the team and says, 'hey, I apologize, and that'll never happen again.'
"He's going to have to talk to the team as a whole unit and apologize in front of them and then he can maybe salvage his season -- and his career -- from here."
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The 49ers (6-8) now sit 2.5 games behind the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks (8-5).
The Rams, 🥃meanwhile, improved to 8-6 w𒁃ith their win and now have a 50 percent chance of making the postseason -- an incredible turnaround given they only had a 16 percent chance of making the playoffs three weeks ago.
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