Why Rick Devens cut Drew Campbell before winning Big Brother 28

Rick Devens says Taylor Brown’s warning about jury votes persuaded him to evict Drew Campbell before winning CBS’s Big Brother 28 on October 1. In interviews published October 2, he explained why he abandoned his intended final two with Campbell and instead faced Brown, winning 6–1.

The ally he cut still backed him: Parade’s Campbell interview records that Campbell voted for Devens to win. Devens, meanwhile, told TVLine: “And when I took the emotion out of it, it was a no-brainer that I couldn’t take Drew.”

NewsJaws previously covered Brown’s last-minute final-two pitch. The new interviews explain what followed: Devens slept on her proposal, agreed to it the next morning and kept Campbell unaware of the deal until the televised eviction.

What Taylor Brown told Rick Devens

In TVLine’s interview, the interviewer described Brown’s pitch as a warning that Devens would lose both her jury vote and LaTrice “Lala” Verrett’s if he took Campbell to the end. Devens credited that conversation with changing a choice he had genuinely wanted to make.

A Devens–Campbell final two never happened, so its result remains unknown. Brown’s pitch does not establish that she could determine Lala’s vote, or that all four jurors would have chosen Campbell. What Devens confirms is that the risk persuaded him.

Devens told TVLine he spent the night weighing the decision and tried to separate his affection for Campbell from the chance to win money for his family. He said he wanted to avoid repeating what he regarded as an emotional mistake on his first Survivor season.

By morning, he said, he and Brown agreed to take each other to the final two if either won the deciding competition. He deliberately kept the agreement from Campbell: “He probably would have changed my mind, so I kept that to myself until you saw it on TV.”

Drew Campbell had just saved Devens

The decision followed Campbell choosing to keep Devens over Dee Valladares at the previous elimination. Devens told TVLine he had initially expected to go home. His confidence changed when Campbell asked whether he would throw the endurance portion of the final Head of Household competition if saved.

Devens said he agreed, reasoning that he first needed to reach the final three to have any chance of reaching the end. Brown ultimately won that endurance portion. Devens went on to win the overall final Head of Household competition, giving him the choice of his final-two opponent.

He called evicting Campbell “the toughest decision I made all summer” in his TVLine interview. He also credited Brown’s intervention, saying it had improved her finish from third to second. His account makes the televised choice the outcome of an overnight reconsideration.

What Campbell and Brown said afterward

Parade’s Campbell interview headline quotes him saying, “I Can’t Be Mad At It.” His recorded jury vote shows that he supported Devens for the win after being evicted. Those public responses offer only a limited account of his feelings about the decision and their relationship afterward.

Devens spoke warmly about Campbell in his separate interview with TheWrap. He said they had played similar games and rejected the idea that he had simply dragged Campbell along. “I think we can be in the Drew Campbell fan club together,” he said.

Brown told Parade she was pleased with second place and preferred that finish against Devens to finishing second against Campbell. “I am more than honored to take second to the Rick Devens,” she said. CBS announced a $75,000 runner-up prize for her.

Devens won the $750,000 grand prize. He also won America’s Favorite Houseguest and $10,000 from the Pharaoh’s Curse, bringing his combined winnings to $810,000, according to TVLine. The audience-selected award supplies a separate measure of support; the reporting does not establish a public-vote total.

How Survivor shaped Devens’ Big Brother game

Devens arrived after two unsuccessful Survivor appearances, including season 50 earlier in 2026. TheWrap reports that he and Valladares followed Cirie Fields’ Big Brother 25 appearance as Survivor crossover contestants. Angela Murray joined them as another returning reality-TV “icon” in the house.

Devens told TheWrap that his earlier partnership with David Wright on Survivor helped him understand his position as Campbell’s more experienced ally. He acknowledged that previous experience helped with strategy and relationships, while describing the long stay inside the Big Brother house as draining.

What happens next for Big Brother

CBS announced that Big Brother has been renewed through season 30. TheWrap reports that season 29 casting is open and season 28 episodes are available on Paramount+. Those announcements concern the programme’s future; neither interview announces a new appearance commitment from the finalists.