Following the San Francisco 49ers' 28-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir reached out to head coach Kyle Shanahan with an apology for his ejection from the game, acknowledging the negative impact on the team.
Expressing remorse, Lenoir admitted, "I feel bad about that. I only hurt the team, so I felt like it was kind of a dumb mistake by me."
Lenoir was one of two players ejected from the Week 14 matchup. The other was Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf. The two were part of an altercation late in the fourth quarter. The scuffle began when linebacker Fred Warner intercepted a pass from Drew Lock, leading to Metcalf tackling Warner. A subsequent shove to the helmet from Warner ignited the Seahawks receiver.
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Despite the game's outcome being already decided, Lenoir recognizes the importance of maintaining discipline.
"I got a lot of respect for Fred," Lenoir said. "I know he's not the troublemaker. He loves football, too, just like everybody on this team. But I just seen him (Metcalf) going after Fred, so I just wanted to help my teammate."
Lenoir is having a good 2023 campaign. On Sunday, he earned his second-highest Pro Football Focus grade of the season, surrendering only two receptions for 10 total yards. Analysts have noticed a feistier player on the football field this season.
"Just knowing Demo's history, just how he was in college and what we had on him coming out, he's always been a pretty feisty guy," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. "But I think the more in this league, you learn to play with an edge. Whatever that edge is, you need something, and he's found that.
"A lot of guys do it that way. Some guys do it separate ways, but you got to have an edge in this league to kind of get you over the top. And Demo's found a good way of doing that because he's playing at a higher level each and every year."
Still, Shanahan wants to avoid seeing his players' fiery play cross the line. He certainly doesn't want to see it lead to ejections from games. San Francisco has had a player ejected from two consecutive games now, with linebacker Dre Greenlaw being forced to exit in Week 13.
"That's a line you can't cross," Shanahan emphasized. "That's something our team takes a lot of pride in. Our team, we feel we are as physical as you can be, but we don't think that's something we ever do. So that was disappointing with him. He knew it. Our team knows it. But that's never the goal. If you get a penalty, you're wrong. If you get ejected, you're twice as wrong."
Despite Lenoir's ejection, the young player's versatility shone as he seamlessly transitioned from the nickel spot to outside cornerback after Charvarius Ward suffered a groin injury early against the Seahawks.
"Playing corner is like second nature," Lenoir said. "It's like riding a bike for me. So going back out there, it was just nothing new. Just had to take the confidence and the willingness to go out there and do it."
Luckily, Ward's injury is not expected to be a long-term one. The veteran cornerback didn't practice on Wednesday but still has a chance to suit up against the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.