De’Vondre Campbell still seems to have hard feelings towards the Green Bay Packers after the way they parted ways earlier this month.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the San Francisco 49ers will sign Campbell — a 2022 first-team All-Pro — to a one-year contract for the 2024 season. The Packers had released him with a post-June 1 destination on March 13, a move that will create roughly $10.57 million in delayed salary-cap relief once the June 2 arrives.
Before his signing was announced, Campbell took to his Instagram and used the opportunity to criticize his former team in Green Bay.
“Someone is about to get a great football player that’s been badly misused,” Campbell wrote in his IG story on March 15. “O well, let’s get it though.”
De’Vondre Campbell Has Spoken Against the Packers Before
This is not the first time Campbell has expressed his frustrations with the Packers on social media. In December, he publicly criticized the team on X following their Week 15 loss to Tampa Bay and wrote that he is “not playing through injuries anymore cause when s*** goes wrong they always use it against you.” The team did not list him on the injury report for the game.
Afterwards, the Packers added him to the injury report with a neck injury for Week 16 and kept him out of practice for the following two weeks as he recovered. He returned to full participation in practice in Week 18, but the team did not completely remove him from the injury report until their divisional-round playoff game against the 49ers.
Neither Campbell nor head coach Matt LaFleur provided any further details about his social media outburst. LaFleur simply said they decided to give him time to get his body right and understood his frustrations over not being at full health. However, it still created some tension in their relationship and raised questions about Campbell’s future with the team.
Packers Didn't Have a Difficult Decision With De’Vondre Campbell
The Packers’ choice to release Campbell was not a big surprise. He went from being a low-cost veteran signing to an All-Pro for them in 2021, earning himself a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the team during the 2022 offseason. However, during their most recent season in 2023, he missed six games due to injuries and struggled to consistently play for a defense that, as a whole, seemed lost for much of the season.
The Packers could have found a way to keep Campbell, but they lacked motivation. Quay Walker, a 2022 first-round pick, is on the verge of stardom after an impressive second year. Isaiah McDuffie also showed he can be an effective No. 2 linebacker for their defense after performing well in relief of Campbell during the 2023 season. It was an easy decision.
With the 49ers, Campbell will have the opportunity to replace star Dre Greenlaw — who tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl — at the start of the 2024 season. However, he is their second choice after they originally reached an agreement with Erik Kendricks only for him to change his mind and instead sign a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
Let’s find out if the 49ers can utilize him more effectively, at least based on Campbell’s expectations.
