For the 49ers, filling the linebacker spot opposite that of star Fred Warner has proven to be a snake-bitten challenge. Each attempt to do so appears to be larded with bad luck, beginning with the bizarre torn Achilles tendon injury suffered by Dre Greenlaw in last year’s Super Bowl.
Greenlaw, remember, was hurt simply trying to enter the game from the sideline. He could miss the whole 2024 season, though he is expected to try to play in the second half of the year.
The 49ers’ first attempt to replace him was by signing polished veteran Eric Kendricks, a solid find at a reasonable price. But Kendricks was talked out of the deal with the 49ers and instead joined the Cowboys, linking up with his former coach Mike Zimmer, now the Dallas defensive coordinator.
The 49ers recovered nicely, though, it seemed. They signed linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, late of the Packers, to a one-year, $5 million contract. Campbell had been an All-Pro in 2021, but had turned 30 and had some injury issues. Still, he was a low-cost veteran who appeared to be a good fit with Warner.
Alas, there are ample signs that the 49ers won’t be able to count on Campbell this season. He has been decent enough against the run, but struggled in pass coverage and has seen his defensive snap count percentage drop each week, from 100% in Week 1 to 84% in Week 3.
DeVondre Campbell Being Pushed by Dee Winters
According to NBC Sports Bay Area, the 49ers are being proactive about Campbell’s slippage, working in fellow linebacker Dee Winters more and more recently. Winters, a sixth-round pick in 2023, was inactive for the first two weeks of the season because of an ankle injury but saw six snaps—10% of the total—early in Week 3.
Of course, Winters then went out, dinging the previous ankle injury.
Team insider Matt Maiocco wrote this week: “The 49ers appeared to signal their discontent with veteran linebacker De’Vondre Campbell when they began working Dee Winters, a second-year player, into the mix on Sunday against the Rams.
“But Winters aggravated an ankle injury in the second quarter and did not return.”
49ers Planned to Get More LBs Involved
In his limited snap count, Winters garnered a Pro Football Grade of 62.6, which is not all that useful because of the sample size. But Campbell’s grade this season is 55.6, which ranks 54th out of 77 linebackers. Warner, for what it’s worth, is No. 1 with a grade of 94.4
Coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the Winters-Campbell dynamic and getting Winters more involved.
“We wanted to do that early going into this year also,” Shanahan said, via the team transcript. “But Dee just got hurt there, I think in that last preseason game, so that set that back a little bit. He’s gotten healthy and we planned on doing that early. … We started that and he got hurt, he reaggravated his ankle.”
Shanahan was then asked if Winters’ insertion was a reflection on Campbell.
“No,” Shanahan said. “It’s, we want to keep working to get the best guys out there and Dee has had a good camp and he showed that he deserves the chance to push him. He did good on the plays that he did when he was in there and hopefully he’ll get healthy so we can keep doing the same stuff.”
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