Campbell left because he didn’t get to play enough, Ward kept showing up while going through a personal nightmare. The two are not the same.
The San Francisco 49ers’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night should have had one major story behind it: De’Vondre Campbell walking out during the third quarter and not returning. The reasoning is he was unhappy with not playing.
The team was equally unhappy with the decision. Head coach Kyle Shanahan, tight end George Kittle, and others spoke about the incident the night it happened, all in the negative.
One of the more notable players to speak on it is Charvarius Ward. In fact, Ward handles his issues the polar opposite of how Campbell handles his. Obviously, as a teammate, Ward’s words carry weight. However, it would be best if you also considered that he’s dealing with his own personal issues, namely the death of his one-year-old daughter.
Before the death was announced, he was getting blasted on social media for missing a step during games. While we don’t know the circumstances, when you know what he was going through, it might be safe to assume he had much more important things to worry about than football.
Ward opened up to The Athletic’s Mike Silver the night after the 49ers lost to the Rams and discussed how difficult this time has been for him:
“It’s been hard for me personally to go to work every day, every game — even to practice or go to meetings,” he [Ward] admitted. “I almost left a couple of times. S—, I know fans probably hate me (for saying that), but f— it, it’s real life. It’s bigger than football. This is the hardest time of my life for sure.”
If you have even a sliver of hate for Ward even thinking of not going to work because of this, I have no words for you. In fact, if you know what he’s going through and you still say he “lost a step,” you might want to look at your priorities in life. There are more important things than a football game.
That alone shows you (and Campbell) that many teammates are dealing with issues but are showing up the best they can and fighting to contribute.
But there’s another thing to add to Ward’s nightmare of a season.
Ward got some bad news on November 12. That’s the day Deommodore Lenoir got extended. The writing was on the wall: Lenoir was the future, and Ward might be walking in free agency. The money that could have been utilized to keep Ward was being used on younger, homegrown talent. Ward was a veteran entering free agency. We know how these stories often play out.
And let’s be honest: we don’t know what’s happening in free agency. Maybe Ward takes a team-friendly deal. Perhaps he has decided to be on his way out.
It’s not a fun situation, and when you add his job status to the one nightmare you never want any parent to go through, Ward showing up and playing deserves respect.
So, his daughter passed away in October, and his status with the team is ambiguous at best. He watched the team commit money to someone else. Within two weeks.
I’m going to assume Ward didn’t sign up for all of this in one season. That’s not a gig anyone should be in line for.
Meanwhile, De’Vondre Campbell signed a contract that obviously meant he’d be a placeholder. Someone to keep the seat warm until Dre Greenlaw was back in action. How obvious? Eric Kendricks bailed at the last minute for the Dallas Cowboys and stated as such. That vacancy was the only reason Campbell got signed. And if Campbell wasn’t aware of this, given the injuries on the team and why they were paying him to begin with, that’s on him. I doubt the 49ers would outright lie about what their intentions are. Kyle Shanahan is a guy who drafted Kirk Cousins and told him [Cousins] straight up that the whole idea was to trade Cousins in a few years. So the evidence is there they may have been honest with Campbell about what the plan was.
The point is that one of his teammates is dealing with awful personal issues, and the fact that someone else got paid has resulted in a cloudy job status. But that guy is still showing up and not complaining. He’s having the worst time of his life—he said so himself. We haven’t even talked about his stats or the 49ers’ record (and neither matter in the scheme of things).
Ward wasn’t prepared for any of his situations, while Campbell had to know (or should have known) that this was the likely outcome before the season started. To be disgruntled now that the scenario is happening is on him. Looking at what other players have to deal with but still come to work makes a lousy look even worse.
Ward exemplifies the culture the 49ers have. Campbell does not; he’s the exact opposite. And because of that and the situation, he is an outsider. And he may have been from the very beginning.