The 49ers are done with linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, but they aren’t expected to simply cut him after he refused to go into Thursday night’s loss to the Rams.
The Niners instead plan to suspend Campbell, largely for financial reasons, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“Make no mistake, De’Vondre Campbell’s tenure with the 49ers is very much over. Kyle Shanahan, the head coach, made that abundantly clear after the game and then the day later,” Rapoport said on the air Sunday morning. “So my understanding of how this happens, and it has not happened officially yet, the 49ers are likely to suspend Campbell, rather than just release him. That is the expectation.
“A couple of reasons for that. One, it prevents him from just going on waivers, getting claimed and signing with another team and playing out the rest of the season. Also, it potentially would allow them to claw back some of his $3.35 million signing bonus.”
The 31-year-old Campbell, a nine-year NFL veteran, is in his first season with the 49ers after essentially signing a one-year contract worth $5 million as a free agent.
The deal included a $1.21 million base salary and $3.35 million signing bonus, 25 percent of which ordinarily can be recouped by the team under the CBA, “because a refusal to play constitutes a forfeitable breach.”
But Campbell’s contract also includes four voidable non-guaranteed years, with the signing bonus set to be spread out as $670,000 annually through 2028.
That means, the team would save 25 percent of that amount — or $167,500 — plus Johnson’s final four game checks of $67,221 apiece.
With linebackers Dre Green and Dee Winters dealing with injuries in the third quarter of Thursday’s 12-6 loss to fall to 6-8 on the season, Campbell told Shanahan “he didn’t want to play today,” the coach explained afterward.
In the fourth quarter, Campbell walked to the locker room with a towel over his head. San Francisco tight end George Kittle later called the entire incident “a selfish decision.”
