After star linebacker Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles during last season’s Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers signed De’Vondre Campbell during the offseason to replace him.
But the nine-year veteran has been a disappointment, and he put one final nail in the Niners’ coffin this past Thursday when they faced the Los Angeles Rams.
Greenlaw made his return in that game but was unable to keep playing in the second half due to Achilles discomfort, and when Campbell was asked to replace him, Campbell refused.
The team responded by suspending Campbell for the rest of the season, and head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted that it made a mistake by signing him in the first place, per Complex Sports.
Kyle Shanahan says “We obviously made a mistake” about signing De’Vondre Campbell during free agency 😅😳
(📽️: @Coach_Yac)pic.twitter.com/EDBtbZQOmg
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) December 18, 2024
Not too long ago, Campbell was considered a productive player — he was named to the All-Pro First Team in 2021 as a member of the Green Bay Packers with 146 total tackles (102 solo), six tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, five passes defended and two interceptions.
But his play this season made it clear that the 31-year-old is perhaps over the hill.
Now that Campbell seems to be on his way to being out of the picture, San Francisco can focus on reintegrating Greenlaw, who became a huge part of their defense over the last couple of seasons.
In the first half of Thursday’s game, he had eight total tackles (three solo), and it became clear that they missed him big-time to that point this year.
In 2023, he registered 120 combined tackles (75 solo), five tackles for loss, four QB hits, four passes defended and 1.5 sacks.
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