The 49ers opted to suspend De'Vondre Campbell for the final three games of 2024 instead of a simple release, which is worse for him overall.
In the immediate aftermath of linebacker De'Vondre Campbell refusing to enter the Week 15 Thursday Night Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, the sentiment was the Niners would try finding the quickest way possible to release the one-time first-team All-Pro.
But San Francisco isn't going to cut Campbell.
During his postgame and Monday press conferences, head coach Kyle Shanahan all but confirmed Campbell wouldn't remain on the roster. Instead, the coach told the media the 49ers were trying to figure out the "semantics" of what to do next.
Turns out, what the Niners are going to do will be much worse for Campbell than simply handing him his walking papers.
Instead, as first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, San Francisco is suspending the linebacker for the rest of the season:
Sources: The #49ers are planning to suspend LB De’Vondre Campbell three games, ending his season, after Campbell refused to go into the game on Thursday night.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 16, 2024
Coach Kyle Shanahan had said, “His actions from the game is just not something you can do to your team.” pic.twitter.com/eVCPU1t5wy
The ramifications of a suspension are going to be much stricter than if Campbell was simply released.
49ers punish De'Vondre Campbell more via suspension than if they cut him
On Sunday, Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported how general manager John Lynch descended from the press box to confront Campbell during Thursday's game, and it was actually Lynch (not Shanahan) who asked the disgruntled linebacker to leave the field.
According to the report, Lynch was heated and didn't show the typical TV-friendly persona so many fans have grown accustomed to since 2017.
Undoubtedly, Lynch played a role in electing to suspend Campbell instead of cutting him, and it's going to cost the linebacker significantly over the balance of the season, as broken down by Spotrac:
De'Vondre Campbell's 3-game suspension (conduct detrimental to the team) will cost him $261,666 in salary & per-game-active bonus.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) December 16, 2024
The #49ers will also have the option to go after $111,666 of his $3.35M signing bonus for the games missed.
Without diving too deeply into the contractual details, an outright release would have prevented San Francisco from going after that portion of the aforementioned signing bonus.
Plus, even though it's hard to imagine any other team from wanting to do so, keeping Campbell on a reserve/suspended list prevents him from signing a free-agent deal anywhere else until the offseason.
Another blow to the linebacker who simply couldn't accept a backup role once star backer Dre Greenlaw returned.
For those wondering if he'll be around the facility during his suspension, based on what his teammates said, it's all but guaranteed the 49ers will ask Campbell to stay as far away as possible.