Over the 49ers' four exhibition games, Colin Kaepernick did not stand for the national anthem.
In the first three games, he remained seated on a bench. In the finale, he elected to take a knee on the sideline.
As San Francisco prepares for its Week 1 matchup against the Rams, what is the state of the locker room?
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"Our locker room is probably better than it was," wide receiver Torrey Smith told KNBR 680 on Wednesday morning. "I'm probably the only guy before who really talked about issues that are real in our society ... it's something that we do talk about in our locker room, when you talk about everything else like everyone else does.
"But when Kap made a stance like he did, it made it bigger and there are more people talking. And when you get to learn people's different perspectives, or even help them learn yours or you learn theirs, it made our team better in a lot of ways. And honestly it hasn't been a distraction at all."
Kaepernick said that he will continue his protest until he sees significant change in our society.
49ers safety Eric Reid joined Kaepernick last Thursday night in San Diego. Will others follow suit?
San Francisco 49ers
"It would say something for a lot of guys to do it because then you kind of take the microscope off of Kap, because everyone is trying to make it seem like he's the big distraction," Smith explained. "They are not trying to talk about what he's protesting for, they're trying to talk about the act itself.
"As long as the conversation is going, that's a positive thing. But the issues are real, the issues are legitimate. And we all need to figure out a way to talk about it and try to be productive."
Smith is also looking to be more productive on the field in 2016, after registering career lows last year in catches (33), yards (663) and touchdowns (4).
"Everyone is focused on trying to win. Not to bring up last year, but it left a bad taste in our mouth," Smith said. "Last year was a great learning experience for me because I honestly didn't get the ball too much. I was able to know what it's like to make it through a game and not get the ball and also learn how to not be frustrated.
"Anything this year I know is going to be a positive. It's not gonna be that way, and I'll have some opportunities to help our team."