PHILADELPHIA -- What started as a single demonstration spread across the NFL on Sunday, as players and teams around the league used time during the national anthem to send a message to the country.

Some locked arms, some knelt or sat, others stayed indoors during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner.” In a few instances, such as in Philadelphia, the entire organization participated, from the owner on down, in a sign of unity after President Donald Trump said Friday that players who protest during the anthem should be fired.

One person missing from the sidelines was the man responsible for sparking the movement: Colin Kaepernick. With almost a quarter of the 2017 NFL season gone, the quarterback who first took a seat in the name of social justice last preseason remains unemployed.

“I hope that [Kaepernick] feels proud of what he started and … what he’s sacrificed since and what took a lot of courage to really ignite. I hope he’s proud of where that’s gone,” said Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins at his locker stall Sunday, reflecting on the day’s events. “And I think it’s obviously going to be one of those points in history that we can all look back on. Where it goes from here I think is up to the body, it’s up to the country, it’s up to the citizens to really get involved.”

Jenkins has taken on a key leadership role both publicly and behind the scenes since joining in the protest early last season. One of his responsibilities is to help organize the players' coalition -- a network of those looking to advance the cause of social activism. Jenkins explained late last week that there is a recruiting element to the process.

“There’s guys in certain markets that we’ve targeted that we want to get involved,” Jenkins said. “Because what I’ve learned is that although you might not have a guy that wants to demonstrate during the national anthem, there’s still guys that want to get involved and use their platform. And so we’ve created kind of that blueprint where if you want to get involved on a bunch of different levels, whether that be behind the scenes or be out in front, and we’ve been shopping that around to different teams to give players those opportunities to get involved.”

Jenkins believes Sunday’s events present an opportunity to further grow the coalition.

“I think this week has kind of brought all of those people to the table,” he said.

More players felt comfortable demonstrating because of the inclusive nature of it. Wide receiver Torrey Smith, a former teammate of Kaepernick’s, raised a fist over his head for the first time, but he did so while standing next to a police officer. Both servicemen and women and police officers linked arms with players and executives on the Eagles sideline.

“It’s important to show that unity, and I made sure that I shook their hands as well,” Smith said. “People try to take it as a narrative like everything is against the police; it’s not.”

Jenkins said the presence of team owners, such as Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, is key to showing that “players that have been standing up for their communities aren’t looked at in a bad way, the way we’ve been depicted over the last year isn’t true, and that our teammates don’t feel that way, our coaches don’t feel that way, and the ownerships of these teams don’t feel that way."

Jenkins added, “I think it’s time that those people stand up -- and not stand up and take on this fight, but at least show support and change the narrative that’s been encircling these demonstrations and the reasons. We’ve been so caught up over the last year over what’s right and what’s wrong and spent very little time actually talking about the issues.”

Now that some of the stigma has been lifted, Jenkins believes the leaguewide demonstrations Sunday may impact the way Kaepernick is viewed.

“If you don’t have a problem with the things that happened today, then you shouldn’t have a problem with Colin Kaepernick,” Jenkins said.