-
Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — A day after Green Bay Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell posted on social media that he would no longer play hurt, coach Matt LaFleur gave him some time off from practice to help him “get his body back.”
LaFleur said he met with Campbell after his post and understood his player’s frustration.
“He’s missed some games and he’s been battling through,” LaFleur said Wednesday. “He’s missed games this year. He’s been on and off the injury report. Certainly I think that comes with a lot of frustration when you don’t feel you’re at your best because of health reasons. So we just think it’s best at this time to kind of give him the week, and we’ll see where we’re at after this week.”
Campbell did not practice Wednesday and was listed on the injury report with a neck injury, the same injury that kept him out of a game last month. He also missed three games earlier this season because of an ankle injury.
However, Campbell was not listed on last week’s injury report and played in his third straight game since missing the Thanksgiving game at Detroit because of the neck.
Campbell and the entire defense struggled in Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when Baker Mayfield threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns. It turned up the heat on defensive coordinator Joe Barry, but LaFleur said Monday he would not make a coaching change during the season.
A day later, Campbell posted: “Not going out my way anymore and I’m not playing through injuries anymore cause when s— goes wrong they always use it against you. I’m treating everyone accordingly and giving them the same energy they giving me. Focus on yourself and your mental 59 you owe it to yourself.”
LaFleur said he did not ask Campbell whether he felt the coaches were using his injury against him when it came to evaluating his play, and Campbell on Wednesday would not clarify whether it was directed toward the organization, fans, media or someone else.
“I’m not answering no questions about nothing that happened on the internet,” Campbell said. “You all want to talk about the Panthers, we can. But I ain’t answering no questions about nothing on no internet.”
Campbell, an All-Pro in the 2021 season, has been pointed to by LaFleur and others as one of the leaders on the defense. He was also named as the team’s nominee this year for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
“I’m not going to get into the details of our conversation,” LaFleur said. “But certainly he’s a guy that, like I said, I’ve still got the utmost respect for him, how he handles his business, how he prepares to play the game of football, all the extra things that he does that I’m well aware of, how he tries to get his body right, because this is a long season, right? And it takes a toll on their body, no question about it. I just think he’s extremely frustrated. Sometimes that happens.”
If there was concern about how Campbell’s message would play in the locker with the other players as the Packers (6-8) are clinging to their playoff lives heading into Sunday’s game at the Panthers, LaFleur said he didn’t sense it.
“I think just in my experience with these young guys especially, how they show up each and every day, I saw it today; there was great energy out there,” LaFleur said. “There was great energy throughout the day. And they were competing. Certainly we try to help them out a little bit in terms of as the season progresses, have to scale back a lot of your practices. A lot of it is above the neck. But we did have a competitive period out there today, and I thought guys were competing. They were playing hard.”