The San Francisco 49ers were understandably upset with linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s refusal to play in last week’s 12-6 loss to the Rams, head coach Kyle Shanahan and several players publicly criticized Campbell’s decision to leave the sideline and return to the locker room instead of taking the field. The Niners were not the only folks appalled by Campbell’s behavior though. During Fox’s broadcast of the Ravens 34-17 win over the Steelers on Saturday, star quarterback turned announcer Tom Brady took an opportunity to take a subtle shot at Campbell while complimenting Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
“A phenomenal teammate. I don’t know if anybody knows this, but he broke his eye socket early in the season. Basically, he played with a broken face. And I see other guys in the league walking out on their teammates because they don’t want to play,” said Brady.
The 33-year old Van Noy is one of the wildest stories in the NFL this season. As Brady said, Van Noy broke the orbital bone in his face this season, but has still appeared in 14 of the Ravens 15 games, making 11 starts. The 11-year veteran has also put up career highs in several key categories, including sacks (9.0), tackles for loss (11), and quarterback hits (16).
Meanwhile, Campbell was suspended by the 49ers for the remainder of the season on Monday. Campbell, who was likely hoping the Niners would release him following his antics, allowing him to join a playoff contender, will instead lose nearly $1 million and no longer have an opportunity to play this season.
