Sources: 49ers to suspend LB De'Vondre Campbell final three games - ESPN

The San Francisco 49ers plan to suspend linebacker De'Vondre Campbell three games for refusing to enter Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams, sources confirmed to ESPN on Monday.

The suspension, first reported by NFL Network, would likely end Campbell's season. The 49ers (6-8) are mathematically alive for the postseason but behind four other teams for the seventh and final NFC playoff spot.

Campbell's decision not to play in the Niners' 12-6 loss angered coach Kyle Shanahan and many of his teammates.

«It's not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still get to be a part of our team,» Shanahan said Friday.

The team had the option of cutting the 31-year-old Campbell, which would have allowed him to go on waivers and potentially sign with a team to play out the rest of the season. But a suspension would possibly allow the Niners to recoup some of the $3.35 million signing bonus they gave to Campbell when he signed a one-year, $5 million deal in March.

He landed the deal after another veteran linebacker, Eric Kendricks, agreed to sign with San Francisco before backing out to go to the Dallas Cowboys. Campbell was envisioned as a placeholder for Dre Greenlaw, the team's starting weakside linebacker who was working his way back from a torn Achilles suffered in Super Bowl LVIII.

With Greenlaw still recovering for the first 13 weeks, Campbell started 12 games and played 90% of the defensive snaps with 79 tackles, including three for loss, and two passes defended.

Greenlaw's return Thursday night offered an immediate spark for a Niners defense that held the Rams without a first down through the first quarter and just three points in the first half. But Greenlaw began dealing with some knee soreness