There is an awful lot that we (the fans) don't know or see, especially with respect to what happens in the locker room and the interpersonal relationships between the players. My theory is that the kneeling and protest thing has been very divisive within "the locker room" and has been an unnecessary distraction to a team that really should be focusing on the X's and O's. True, they haven't done it for a while, but I'll bet you that within their group, it is ongoing topic of conversation week in and week out. 

I don't have the time this morning to research it, but my impression is that within the NFL, there is a pretty strong correlation between the teams that have "kneelers" or at least identify as social justice warriors and the teams that are struggling. Anyone come up with any data one way or the other?