The 49ers Sign De'Vondre Campbell
Finally, they found a replacement for Dre Greenlaw.
The 49ers just signed linebacker De'Vondre Campbell to a one-year deal, according to The NFL Network. This news comes after the 49ers tried to sign linebacker Eric Kendricks to a one-year deal, but he backed out at the last minute and signed a two-year deal with the Cowboys. So Campbell isn't exactly the 49ers' first-choice.
The 49ers are in the linebacker market because Greenlaw tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl and could miss some or all of next season. His understudy, Oren Burks, also is a free agent, and the 49ers probably won't re-sign him after watching him get torched by the Chiefs in the Super Bowl after Greenlaw went down.
Campbell should be an upgrade over Burks, which is something. And Campbell certainly used to be a terrific player as recently as 2021 when he was an All Pro. He also played for the Falcons in 2016 when Kyle Shanahan was their offensive coordinator, so there's familiarity.
But Campbell isn't a good player anymore -- there's a reason the 49ers preferred Kendricks. The past two seasons, Campbell has declined rapidly as injuries and age have caught up with him. Ideally, he would be a backup at this stage of his career, and one of the 49ers rookie linebackers from last season, Dee Winters or Jalen Graham, who outperform Campbell and fill in for Greenlaw until he's healthy. But there's no guarantee one of those young linebackers will step up. So the 49ers signed Campbell just in case.
What else were they supposed to do?
