SANTA CLARA, Calif. — (AP) — San Francisco linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter Thursday night’s game in the third quarter after losing his starting job when Dre Greenlaw returned from an injury.
Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of defensive snaps for the 49ers but was benched for San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after Greenlaw came back for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl.
Greenlaw had eight tackles in the first half but left the game in the third quarter with soreness in his Achilles tendon. That’s when Campbell refused to enter the game.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the loss, which left the 49ers (6-8) on the brink of playoff elimination.
Shanahan said he has never seen that before in his coaching career …