HEADLINES

De’Vondre Campbell

49ers Want To Re-Sign S Talanoa Hufanga, LB Dre Greenlaw

December 20th, 2024 at 12:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

As injuries have harpooned a 49ers NFC title defense for the second time in five years, the team’s offseason becomes more relevant. The 49ers extended Deommodore Lenoir earlier this season but still has several starters moving toward free agency.

The Lenoir extension probably sends Charvarius Ward back to the market, but the 49ers are not closing the door on re-signing two other impending free agent defenders. The team is interested in retaining both Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw. Kyle Shanahan confirmed as much.

[RELATED: Assessing Brock Purdy’s Extension Candidacy]

“Those are two of the better players I’ve been around and two of the better players on our team and two of the main reasons we’ve had the success we’ve had,” Shanahan said, via The Athletic’s Matt Barrows (subscription required) “So hopefully we can do everything we can to work out keeping them here because they’re as much of examples of 49ers as anyone I can think of.”

For what it’s worth, Shanahan offered a similar sentiment regarding Ward this summer. With Lenoir signed and Renardo Green on track for a bigger 2025 role, Ward is almost certainly heading elsewhere come March. The 49ers also have guard Aaron Banks set to hit the market. Barrows does not place a high likelihood on Banks being back, either, as the 49ers have not been big on guard payments under Shanahan; this year’s guard market also showed how high prices can rise for proven starters. As for Hufanga, Barrows views a return as being squarely on the radar.

The markets of both Hufanga and Greenlaw figure to be impacted by the injuries each has battled. Hufanga sustained an ACL tear in November 2023 and then missed much of this season due to a wrist issue, one that still has him in a cast. Greenlaw suffered one of the more untimely injuries in NFL history, at least as it pertained to his team’s championship chances, tearing an Achilles while trotting onto the field in Super Bowl LVIII. Both players are off IR now, however, and can boost their markets by playing well for a 6-8 team over the final three games.

A 2021 fifth-round pick, Hufanga impressed during a 2022 position battle to replace Jaquiski Tartt and earned first-team All-Pro acclaim months later. The 49ers showed how much they value Hufanga this season, redeploying him despite the cast. That said, Ji’Ayir Brown and fourth-round rookie Malik Mustapha have been the team’s primary safeties this season. Both are tied to rookie deals, each’s running beyond 2025. The 49ers want to keep Hufanga, but Barrows does not make it sound like they would compete with a booming market. Then again, beyond Xavier McKinney and Jessie Bates, safeties have not generated booming markets in recent offseasons. That would boost San Francisco’s retention chances.

San Francisco has run into a much more difficult time replacing Greenlaw. Its 2024 plan infamously combusted last week, with De’Vondre Campbell refusing to enter the Rams game and walking off the field. The 49ers have suspended the linebacker, whom John Lynch confronted during the strange sequence. The since-banned ‘backer had started to refuse to play during the second quarter, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer notes, adding that Lynch then sent him to the locker room. Shanahan also said (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch) the team had one other linebacker — after Eric Kendricks, who backtracked on a 49ers pledge to join the Cowboys — ahead of Campbell in their free agency pecking order.

Campbell, however, became the pick and proved a downgrade on Greenlaw. The latter has been Fred Warner‘s primary sidekick since his 2019 rookie season. While Greenlaw accepted a two-year, $16MM extension in 2022, he is likely to finish this season unsigned. We mentioned recently a deal in the ballpark of ex-teammate Azeez Al-Shaair (three years, $34MM) could be in play should Greenlaw stay healthy to close out the year; Barrows also mentioned that as a comp. Greenlaw and Al-Shaair are each 27, though the 49ers consistently played Greenlaw in front of the now-Texans linebacker.

The 49ers’ plans to pay Brock Purdy the quarterback going rate will complicate their free agency strategy as well. That will make the Greenlaw and Hufanga markets more interesting. A potential either/or situation may form with this duo, but it does appear clear the 49ers are not planning to let either walk without negotiations commencing first.

49ers Suspend LB De’Vondre Campbell

December 16th, 2024 at 8:20am CST by Sam Robinson

DECEMBER 16: The 49ers will indeed move forward with a suspension, Rapoport reports; the move is now official. Campbell will be out for the final three contests of the season, and he will forfeit his game checks for that period in addition to any potential lost signing bonus money. Given San Francisco’s decision not to waive Campbell, he will turn his attention to free agency this spring where his value will have obviously taken a notable hit.

DECEMBER 15: The 49ers signed De’Vondre Campbell to work as a stopgap during Dre Greenlaw‘s recovery from Achilles surgery. That run lasted 13 games, with the longtime starter not making his season debut until Thursday. But Greenlaw did not make it through his opener unscathed, leading to one of the stranger situations any team has encountered this season.

Campbell refused a fourth-quarter assignment to come in on defense, instead walking to the 49ers’ locker room during the team’s 12-6 loss to the Rams. This obviously angered teammates, and Kyle Shanahan confirmed Campbell is done with the team. The 49ers, however, are not expected to waive the veteran defender immediately. Instead, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates a suspension will likely come first.

If the 49ers suspend Campbell, they can recover part of his $3.35MM signing bonus. A refusal to play constitutes a forfeitable breach of contract, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes, opening the door to San Francisco going after part of the bonus. This avenue will make it somewhat costly for Campbell, who signed a one-year, $5MM deal in March — after Eric Kendricks backtracked on a 49ers commitment to join the Cowboys.

This action would only lead to Campbell losing $234K, per Florio, should the 49ers ban him for one game. Four void years are included in Campbell’s contract, spreading out the bonus. That will limit what the 49ers can go after, but they look likely to do what is possible to reduce Campbell’s compensation. This move will also prevent him from catching on elsewhere and bouncing back immediately. Considering the anger Campbell’s refusal to play caused in the locker room, the team preventing a smooth exit makes sense here.

Campbell, 31, having to pay back a portion of a bonus already sent to him would mark an ignominious ending for him in San Francisco — and perhaps as an NFLer altogether. The Falcons drafted Campbell during Shanahan’s second season as their OC, giving the current 49ers HC some familiarity with a player who had started for Atlanta, Arizona and Green Bay. The Packers re-signed Campbell to a five-year, $50MM deal after his first-team All-Pro season in 2021.

Campbell made it through two years of that contract, as Green Bay moved on this offseason. Considering the way it ended for him in San Francisco, it would not surprise if other teams pass on allowing the former second-rounder the opportunity to end his career on a better note.

Kyle Shanahan Addresses LB De’Vondre Campbell’s Refusal To Play In Week 15

December 13th, 2024 at 10:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

10:20pm: Shanahan said on Friday (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle) the team is still working out exactly how Campbell’s situation will be dealt with. He made it clear, however, that Campbell will not play again for the 49ers.

9:25am: Week 15 marked the return of Dre Greenlaw to the 49ers’ lineup, but the team’s linebacking corps dealt with injuries partway through the game. Greenlaw and Dee Winters were forced to exit the contest, opening the door for De’Vondre Campbell to step into the lineup.

Campbell informed head coach Kyle Shanahan he would not enter the game, however. In the fourth quarter, Campbell departed San Francisco’s sideline and headed to the locker room. As one might expect, the team’s coaches and players have not reacted positively to the developments.

“People noticed, but when someone says that, you move on,” Shanahan said after the 49ers’ 12-6 loss (via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner). “That’s somebody who doesn’t want to play football. That’s pretty simple. I think our team and myself, we know how we feel about that, so we don’t need to talk about him anymore.”

Shanahan added the team will “figure out something” when asked if Campbell will be cut in the wake of his decision. San Francisco started the year shorthanded at the linebacker spot with Greenlaw rehabbing his Super Bowl Achilles tear, and a deal was in place with Eric Kendricks during free agency. Kendricks backed out and ultimately signed with the Cowboys, however, something which led to Campbell being targeted. The former Packers All-Pro took a one-year deal to operate as the 49ers’ weakside LB starter while Greenlaw recovered.

Over that span, Campbell was indeed a key starter on defense, logging a 90% snap share. The 31-year-old totaled 79 tackles through 13 games, second on the team behind only Fred Warner. As expected, though, Greenlaw handled first-team duties in his return before being forced to exit with a knee issue. With Winters also unavailable and Campbell declining to play, San Francisco turned to Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles to close out the game alongside Warner.

Campbell is attached to a veteran minimum base salary, so if he were to be placed on waivers interested teams could add him as an inexpensive depth option for the closing weeks of the season. If the 49ers prefer to keep him in the fold, a suspension could be in order (similar to the Ravens’ Diontae Johnson situation). In any event, it will be interesting to see how the team proceeds.

49ers Expecting To Start Season Without LB Dre Greenlaw

July 13th, 2024 at 10:24pm CST by Ely Allen

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw has known for a while that he faces long odds of returning from injury in time for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. After suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl, Greenlaw has been working his way back to the field slowly. As the regular season approaches, though, it’s becoming more and more clear that San Francisco will need to look elsewhere to start the year.

According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the 49ers have been operating under the assumption that they’ll be starting the year without Greenlaw since they entered the offseason. Initially, the team made moves to acquire Eric Kendricks, planning to utilize him in that weakside linebacker role as Greenlaw continued to recover. Kendricks opted instead to sign with the Cowboys, changing his mind after coming to an agreement with San Francisco.

With Kendricks out, the Niners signed recent Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. Campbell has spent most of his career as one of two inside linebackers in 3-4 defensive fronts, so he’ll face a slight adjustment in San Francisco’s base 4-3 scheme. The consensus after the spring is that Campbell will start off the year in Greenlaw’s weakside linebacker position until Greenlaw is able to come off of the injured list (likely the physically unable to perform list), then Campbell will transition to the strongside role.

To fill that strongside role until Campbell comes over, San Francisco has several options. There are three veterans — Zeke Turner, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and Curtis Robinson — on the roster, but all three have established themselves as special teamers over the past few years, though Turner and Flannigan-Fowles do have a few starts under their belt. Three young, late-round draft picks make up the rest of the room. Last year’s seventh-round pick Jalen Graham saw extremely reserved time last season, while this year’s seventh-round rookie Tatum Bethune may not be asked to step into that big of a role this quickly.

Last year’s sixth-round pick out of TCU, Dee Winters, though, has been tabbed by starting middle linebacker Fred Warner as a player to watch. Though Winters played in 15 games last season, he played sparingly on the defense. This spring, though, Warner called out Winters as having “the best (organized team activities) out of anybody on the team.”

If Winters continues to be a strong contributor throughout training camp, he may end up getting elevated from special teamer to starter to open the year. Winters may be able to provide the 49ers with the temporary bandage they need to cover for the absence of Greenlaw until he returns from a probable PUP stint. If not, they may need to explore more veteran options on the free agent market or rely upon a veteran of their own.

49ers LB Dre Greenlaw Unlikely To Be Ready For Week 1

March 27th, 2024 at 10:33am CST by Sam Robinson

Dealt a strange blow when Dre Greenlaw suffered an Achilles tear while trotting onto the field during Super Bowl LVIII’s first half, the 49ers attempted multiple insurance measures. The Eric Kendricks plan did not pan out, leading De’Vondre Campbell to San Francisco.

The eight-year veteran will be set to team with Fred Warner in the event Greenlaw’s rehab does not have him ready to play by Week 1. Although Greenlaw underwent surgery shortly after the Super Bowl, the recent LB pursuit would suggest the 49ers are concerned the longtime Warner sidekick will not be ready in time to start the season.

John Lynch said at this week’s owners meetings (via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco) Greenlaw is aiming to be back on time, but the eighth-year GM indicated this also may lead to a situation in which the reserve/PUP list is needed.

Greenlaw will almost definitely begin training camp on the active/PUP list, but a shift to the reserve/PUP list would sideline him for at least four games. Early October would represent a near-eight-month recovery timetable. While some players have beaten that — including ex-49ers wideout Michael Crabtree back in 2013 — caution would make sense on the 49ers’ part.

Kendricks backed out of a 49ers agreement to sign with the Cowboys. The longtime Vikings linebacker reunited with new Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer, but the 49ers offered him a better deal than the one-year, $3MM ($2.5MM guaranteed) contract he inked with Dallas. Kendricks said the 49ers wanted him to start the season in Greenlaw’s place, a three-down role, before likely moving to a part-time gig once the regular starter came back. Campbell signed a one-year, $5MM contract ($4.56MM guaranteed) soon after Kendricks backtracked.

“I didn’t want to be in a situation where I was playing in a position all year and then had to potentially switch to another position — rotating in and out,” Kendricks said on the Bussin’ With Boys podcast (via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch). “I wanted to be on the field. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to make an impact, and that’s why, ultimately, I had to make a change for myself.”

Kendricks joined a team with a greater need for a full-time linebacker, as Greenlaw should be expected to return at some point during the season’s first half. Crabtree went down in late May 2013 and returned in early December. The 49ers could opt to leave Greenlaw off the PUP list and go week to week, but their Kendricks communications suggest a Warner-Campbell setup at linebacker to start the year. Greenlaw is going into his age-27 season. Greenlaw’s two-year, $16.4MM contract expires after the 2024 slate, raising the stakes for the former fifth-round pick to recover and play well this season.

49ers To Sign LB De’Vondre Campbell

March 15th, 2024 at 11:13am CST by Sam Robinson

11:13am: The 49ers will bring in Campbell, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport noting a deal is in place. The sides agreed on a one-year contract. This will be a fourth team for Campbell, who will join Warner as a presumptive starter while Greenlaw recovers.

9:12am: Having an agreement to add a veteran starter as Dre Greenlaw insurance, the 49ers saw their plan come apart when the Cowboys instead lured Eric Kendricks. The defending NFC champions are now looking at another recent cap casualty.

De’Vondre Campbell is on the team’s radar. San Francisco is showing “strong interest” in the recently released Green Bay linebacker, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco tweets. The Packers cut Campbell two seasons into his five-year, $50MM deal this week.

Kendricks had been tentatively in place to work as insurance while Greenlaw rehabs the Achilles tear he suffered while trotting onto the field early in Super Bowl LVIII. The Cowboys featured a bigger need at the position compared to the 49ers, who should be expected to have Greenlaw back on the field alongside All-Pro Fred Warner at some point next season. Campbell now may be the target for this No. 3 linebacker role.

Oren Burks operated in this capacity last season, playing 433 defensive snaps following Azeez Al-Shaair‘s free agency exit. A former Campbell Packers teammate, Burks is unsigned for the 2024 season. Campbell, 30, played in front of Burks in 2021 — an All-Pro season — en route to signing a new Packers contract. As the Packers transition to a new defensive coordinator, they dropped Campbell’s contract to free up cap space. The former Cardinals and Falcons defender had no guarantees remaining on the deal.

Campbell started 40 games in Green Bay, including 11 last season. After back-to-back years with six tackles for loss and two interceptions apiece, the former Atlanta second-rounder took a step back last year (75 tackles, three for loss) in an injury-shortened season. Campbell, whose Falcons tenure overlapped with Kyle Shanahan‘s in 2016, also played through a shoulder injury in 2022.

Greenlaw underwent surgery shortly after the Super Bowl. While the timeline could allow for the veteran linebacker to be back by Week 1, he will likely begin training camp on the active/PUP list and could be a candidate for a reserve/PUP designation. The latter transaction would sideline Greenlaw for four games to start the season. The 49ers are preparing to take precautions while Greenlaw rehabs; seeing if Campbell would accept the former Al-Shaair part-time role — when Greenlaw is healthy, that is — will be something to monitor.

Packers To Release LB De’Vondre Campbell

March 10th, 2024 at 4:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Once free agency officially begins, De’Vondre Campbell will see his Packers tenure come to an end. The veteran linebacker will be released on the first day of the new league year, Tom Sliverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

By waiting until the start of the league year, Green Bay will be able to designate Campbell a post-June 1 release. That route will yield just over $10.5MM in savings, a far higher figure than if he were to be let go now. However, the Packers will not see that added cap space until June 2. Moving on from Campbell will produce a dead money charge of $3.66MM.

The 30-year-old had a late breakout during his debut campaign with the Packers. Playing on a one-year deal in 2021, he posted 146 tackles, two interceptions and a pair of sacks en route to receiving first-team All-Pro honors. Campbell was rewarded with a five-year, $50MM deal in 2022. Expectations went through the roof as a result, but the former fourth-rounder saw a downturn in production over the past two seasons. Still, his release will create the need for a new starter at the LB spot this offseason.

Campbell played through a shoulder injury in 2022, and he was limited to 11 games last year. Green Bay will be looking for more stability on the health front with an outside addition or the retention of an in-house replacement candidate. Silverstein notes special teamer Eric Wilson is on the Packers’ list of players the team would like to re-sign. Wilson last saw a heavy defensive workload in 2020 with the Vikings, though, so he will likely retain his third phase responsibilities while Green Bay re-shapes its starting defense under new DC Jeff Haffley.

Kristian Welch (a fellow special teams ace) is a pending free agent like Wilson. As a result, the only sure thing at the LB spot for the time being is 2022 first-rounder Quay Walker. The Georgia alum has started all but one of his games in Green Bay to date, posting at least 118 tackles each season. He will be counted on heavily moving forward, but it will be interesting to see who he will be paired with in 2024. The Packers presently have $13.6MM in cap space, a figure which will grow well after the first few waves of free agency have taken place via Campbell’s release. It will be interesting to see how much of a market develops for him once he becomes available.

Packers LB De’Vondre Campbell Dealt With Shoulder Injury In 2022

July 16th, 2023 at 11:22am CST by Rory Parks

The Packers’ low-risk acquisition of inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell in June 2021 paid huge dividends for player and team, as Campbell turned in a First-Team All-Pro performance that year and parlayed that into a five-year, $50MM deal from Green Bay last March. His first season of that new contract was marred to some degree by a knee injury that cost him four games, and Campbell recently said that he also dealt with a nagging shoulder injury for much of the year (Twitter link).

The former fourth-round pick of the Falcons returned an interception for a touchdown during the Packers’ Week 7 loss to the Commanders, and he says that he was “just hitting my stride” in that contest after playing through the shoulder pain for the first third of the season (pain that he never reported to anyone). Unfortunately, he suffered the knee injury the following week in a contest against the Bills.

Campbell, 30, returned to his full-time role in Week 13, and despite the shoulder and knee ailments, his performance did not suffer much, at least in the eyes of the advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 75.6 overall grade, a mark that included a particularly high 81.0 score in the all-important “coverage” category and positioned him as the NFL’s 15th-best linebacker among 81 qualifiers. In his standout 2021 season, PFF gave him an 85.0 overall grade.

Campbell says he is now completely healthy, and the Packers will need him to continue playing at a high level. Green Bay still has a puncher’s chance of winning a questionable NFC North, or to at least earn a wildcard berth, despite transitioning from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love at quarterback. If that happens, it will likely be because the club’s defense, a middling unit in 2022, returns to the top-10 form it displayed the year prior. Campbell, who calls the defensive signals, will be central to that effort.

The Packers were of course not going to move on from Campbell this offseason given their financial commitment to him and his importance to the defense. Still, it is notable that the team did not make any draft or FA investments at the ILB position, so it is clear that Green Bay has plenty of faith in Campbell and his running mate, 2022 first-rounder Quay Walker.

Packers To Re-Sign LB De’Vondre Campbell

March 14th, 2022 at 2:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

After keeping the Aaron Rodgers–Davante Adams tandem, the Packers continue to retain key pieces in free agency. They have agreed to terms with De’Vondre Campbell, Bill Huber of SI.com reports.

Campbell is set to stay in Green Bay on a five-year, $50MM deal. This is quite the pay bump for the 2021 All-Pro, who signed a low-level pact with the Packers midway through last year’s offseason. Campbell’s contract will pay out $16.25MM in Year 1 and total $32.25MM through three years, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets.

Playing on a one-year deal worth $2MM, Campbell became a vital cog for the Packers’ defense last season. The ex-Falcon draftee reshaped his career with the Packers, making 146 tackles, forcing two fumbles and registering two sacks for the NFC’s top-seeded team. This came after the Cardinals gave him a one-year deal in 2020 but opted not to re-sign him for last season.

This marks a notable deviation for the Packers, who have not traditionally prioritized off-ball linebackers. The team has not invested notable draft capital in the position in over a decade and let tackles machine Blake Martinez walk as a free agent in 2020. Despite Campbell going into his age-29 season, Green Bay made sure to lock him down.

Although the Packers released Za’Darius Smith and Billy Turner on Monday, they remain more than $10MM over the cap. The NFC North powerhouse will need to continue to make moves before the start of the 2022 league year Wednesday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/10/21

December 10th, 2021 at 5:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Load More Posts