NFC Notes: De’Vondre Campbell, Coby Bryant, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

During their Week 15 loss on Thursday Night Football, 49ers LB De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter. San Francisco TE George Kittle was among the leaders of the locker room to express how frustrated they are with Campbell’s decision to turn his back on the team.

“I’m a leader on the team, and if that is something that is being a distraction on the sideline, I would’ve loved to voice my own opinion in the moment,” Kittle said, via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “And we’re past that moment. So, it doesn’t matter what I wish I could have said or wish I could have done, but I don’t like distractions on the sideline. I think that’s ignorant. And I think it’s just dumb. It’s just stupid, and it’s very immature. I just don’t see how you could do something like that to your team.”

“It’s one person making a selfish decision. I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.”

San Francisco HC Kyle Shanahan doesn’t think Campbell wants to play football but wasn’t looking to discuss the situation any further.

“People noticed, but when someone says that, you move on,” Shanahan said. “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 said they have had no contact with Campbell and they are working through how to handle him refusing to enter the game. (Jonathan Jones)
• Shanahan also mentioned LB Dre Greenlaw is dealing with some knee/Achilles soreness and will be day-to-day for Week 16. (Matt Barrows)
• Regarding LT Trent Williams, Shanahan noted his recovery has been slower than expected but Williams is doing everything he can to return. (Nick Wagoner)

Rams

The Rams kept up in the NFC West race with a 12-6 win over the 49ers just one week after a shootout win over the Bills. Los Angeles HC Sean McVay thinks it’s valuable that this group has shown they are capable of winning in a variety of ways.

“I think what’s really cool is this team has found a bunch of different ways to be able to win football games,” McVay said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “You come off a 44-42 game the other day and then you win 12-6. Our group did what they needed to do to be able to get it done and the defense just felt like they were coming up with stop after stop.”

• McVay expects TE Tyler Higbee to be activated for Week 16 but it’s not official yet. (Jourdan Rodrigue)

Seahawks

Seahawks DB Coby Bryant has emerged from backup to one of the premier players for Seattle’s defense.

“You feel comfortable in the back end knowing that him and J Love are back there,” LB Ernest Jones IV said, via The Athletic. “He’s a baller.”

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald said that Bryant is the type of players that the team wants in the building and is a reminder that everything is earned.

“Coby is a great example of how we want to build this thing,” Macdonald said. “Come in, work, compete, do the things every day, stack all the great reps, get the confidence, get an opportunity, take advantage and run with it. Then let your abilities go from there.”

Seahawks WR DK Metcalf isn’t surprised to see Bryant flourishing, who he’s called Ed Reed in the past because of his ability to find the ball.

“I know it’s a stretch, but just hear me out,” Metcalf said, explaining the nickname. “No offense to Ed Reed or anything, but just the way that (Bryant) tracks the ball, he’s always near the ball. Just going back to when he was a rookie, he’s always had a nose for the ball, whether that was punching it out, catching picks or making an open-field tackle. I just thought he had the complete package to be a great defensive player.”