The Green Bay Packers surprised some people this past offseason when they released linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who still had three years remaining on the five-year, $50 million contract he signed following his First-Team All-Pro campaign in 2021.
It wasn't even the financial ramifications that made the move so shocking, as Green Bay didn't take too big of a hit in that regard. It was more that it created a bit of a hole in the starting lineup.
That said, though, as he was the second-oldest defensive player on the roster, hadn't come close to matching his production from that '21 season, and effectively didn't fit in with new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's 4-3 scheme, Campbell was shown the door.
And he certainly didn't take it well.
Not long after being told he'd be a post-June 1 release, Campbell took to Instagram with this beauty:
De’Vondre Campbell’s recent IG story… pic.twitter.com/w0YbfqxPY2
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) March 15, 2024
That someone, of course, turned out to be the San Francisco 49ers, who quickly signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million.
The Packers, of course, face the 49ers this Sunday at Lambeau Field. And targeting Campbell needs to be a big part of Matt LaFleur's offensive game plan.
The Packers should target De'Vondre Campbell as much as they can in their Week 12 matchup with the 49ers
Much like the 49ers made Campbell look terrible when they knocked off the Packers in the playoffs, LaFleur has the chance to make his former linebacker look just as bad this Sunday, not as if Campbell has needed much help in that regard this season.
For most of the season, the 31-year-old has looked as slow as he ever has. Whatever burst he once had is mostly gone. And while he's made 59 tackles this season, he's missed a lot over the Niners' first 10 games.
Honestly, had Dre Greenlaw not ruptured his Achilles and Eric Kendricks not spurned San Francisco to sign with the Dallas Cowboys (oops), one has to think the 49ers wouldn't have even signed Campbell.
For proof of just how far he's fallen, look no further than his Pro Football Focus grades. In his All-Pro season for the Packers in 2021, Campbell had an overall grade of 84.7. This year, he's at 55.9, ranking him 64th among the 82 linebackers who meet the minimum snap requirement. And his tackling grade is a woeful 40.6, the lowest mark of his entire career.
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So, as you can see, LaFleur needs to exploit this. For one, you want to target him to stay away from Fred Warner, who unsurprisingly is PFF's highest-rated linebacker at 91.1. That might be reason enough right there.
But seriously, there's no part of Campbell's game that looks great right now. If the Packers can somehow keep Warner at Bay, Jordan Love can throw slants in Campbell's direction all day long, and Josh Jacobs can simply run to his side of the field.
With a run defense grade of 54.0 and a coverage grade of 57.7, it's not like Campbell can do much about it.
The Packers made the right call in letting Campbell go. Now, they need to show him exactly why they did.