Eric Reid believes the initial message he and Colin Kaepernick tried to send by kneeling during the national anthem as a silent protest of racial inequality last year has been lost in translation.

Nearly every NFL team has had players participating in some form of protest on the heels of Donald Trump's comments about players kneeling during the anthem.

"He thinks that [the weekend's protest] was a direct response to, obviously, what the president said," Reid said.

"[Kaepernick] wishes that this many people were involved last year. I don't think the narrative would have went in as many directions as it went if we had more solidarity. We could have focused in on these issues, but we have got to be pragmatic about it. We have this opportunity now, and it's important that we discuss the issues and make changes."