Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins is not anticipating a team-wide gesture during the national anthem prior to Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears, but he does not believe he will be alone, either.

Speaking at his locker Saturday after practice, Jenkins stood firm on his decision to join Colin Kaepernick and others across the league in making a statement pregame. He ruled out kneeling and also said that the team would "probably not" be locking arms like the Seattle Seahawks did in Week 1.

"We talked last week about doing some things, and there were some mixed emotions on the conversation," said Jenkins, who decided not to push the demonstration forward last week out of respect for those who sacrificed on 9/11. "So this week I've really been to myself about it. And over the next few days, I'll probably talk to a few guys who I know care about the topic and are passionate about it and weigh those options."

One player who plans on joining Jenkins is veteran Ron Brooks, who is expected to start at cornerback in Leodis McKelvin's absence this week. Brooks believes there is a way to protest while being respectful at the same time.

"I thought about kneeling but having my hand across my heart still and not actually standing up, because I don't feel like everything is equal in the country and things do need to change, but still showing my patriotism and my appreciation for the people that have come before me and fought and gave their lives so that we can do what we do," he said.

"I will probably get with Jenkins and see what we come up with. We want to be united in what we do. We don't want to have some people kneeling and some people sitting and those kind of things. We want to show that we're all on the same page and we're all representing the same message."

Judging from the responses gathered throughout the locker room, though, not all Eagles players are on the same page.

"Everybody has a right to protest and do what they feel. For me, I'm just going to stay neutral and continue to just keep working hard and focus on this year and football and trying to get the ring," said defensive end Brandon Graham. "I understand there's a lot going on, but trying not to let it be a distraction on what's the real kind of goal for this year."

"None of it has filtered down to me," added fellow defensive end Bryan Braman. "Personally, I won't be doing anything during the national anthem.

"Something like [locking arms], I'm good with, but as far as taking a knee or anything like that ... I'm not going to put myself outside the team. I'm a team player. If the team wants to do something, then I'm good with it. But if I feel like it's disrespecting anything that I feel the national flag represents, I won't be participating."

Jenkins' stance has evolved when it comes to protesting during the national anthem. Shortly after Kaepernick chose to do so, Jenkins expressed his belief that the action was overshadowing the message behind it. In recent weeks, however, he has seen that the issues Kaepernick chose to sit and then kneel for are now more a part of the national conversation.

"There's no comfortable way to change anything," said Jenkins. "So if somebody gets upset, it's probably because they're not listening. That's why I think if you look at guys around the league and all the guys that have been protesting or demonstrating, if you listen, the message has been the same across the board no matter what they decide to do. And I thought I was very clear when I said it's not an anti-police thing -- in fact, the police are a key part of the solution in this issue across the nation. It has nothing to do with the military or the flag itself. We understand that people will get upset, and that's part of it, that's what makes you guys put these cameras in my face and that's what keeps this conversation going. Sometimes you've got to rock the boat to get a little bit of change."

"The end goal is to get some real change. And I know somebody kneeling or doing something is not just going to create change. But when you look at the issue, a lot of it is systematic, and if you want to change a system, that comes with lawmakers, elected officials, things of that sort. And so that's really just drawing attention to it, so your community pushes those things to the forefront, especially when you talk about elections and selecting presidents and who is going to do what. And when you start to talk about the changes that you want, you force those people in those positions to listen."

Jenkins suggested that his form of protest may stretch across the entire season, as opposed to just Monday night in Chicago.

"It's no longer just a team conversation. This is a league-wide conversation where guys are reaching out to each other, spitballing ideas," he said. "But I think one thing is consistent around the league is that there are a lot of guys who feel strongly about this topic and are looking for ways to express themselves and draw light to it in whatever way they see fit.

"Guys are communicating, and this is not just a random thing. This takes a lot of planning, a lot of conversations, a lot of weighing pros and cons, and you're starting to see the fruits of all that."