Colin Kaepernick's protest against social injustice picked up some serious steam over the weekend. During Week 1 of the NFL season, almost a dozen players made the decision to join Kaepernick's cause.

Although Kaepernick's decision to protest during the national anthem started on Aug. 14, it didn't go public until the 49ers third preseason game on Aug. 26. Since then, a total of 13 NFL players have joined Kaepernick in his fight for social equality.

While two of those players -- Jeremy Lane and Eric Reid -- joined Kaepernick's cause during the preseason, a resounding 11 new players protested during the national anthem during Week 1 of the regular season.

The biggest showing came in Miami, where four players -- Arian Foster, Michael Thomas, Jelani Jenkins and Kenny Stills -- kneeled for the national anthem.

"They say 'It's not the time to do this.' Well, when is the time?," Foster said, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "It's never the time in somebody else's eyes because they'll always feel like it's good enough and some people don't. That's the beautiful thing about this country, if somebody feels it's not good enough, then they have the right, and that's all they're doing is exercising their right."

Broncos' linebacker Brandon Marshall was another player who protested during the national anthem in Week 1, and his actions actually had consequences. Less than 24 hours after his protest, Marshall was dumped by one of his sponsors.

Marshall and the Dolphins players are the five guys who kneeled down during the national anthem in Week 1. For five other guys, protesting during the anthem meant keeping a fist raised, that's what Jurrell Casey, Jason McCourty and Wesley Woodyard did before Tennessee's loss to Minnesota.

That's also what Marcus Peters did in Kansas City.

Devin McCourty and Martellus Bennett capped Sunday's round of protesting by holding up their fist during the Patriots' Sunday night game in Arizona.

McCourty explained after the Patriots' win why he decided to hold up his fist instead of kneel down during the national anthem.

"Around the NFL, a lot of guys are doing different things. It's all for the same cause, different social injustices," McCourty said, via ESPN.com. "I wore socks with the American flag. I believe in this country. I love this country. My father was in the Army. My older brother was in the Army. Those men and women go out there and put their life on the line. I respect that. That's the reason why I didn't do anything during the national anthem because I respect it."

That brings the total number of protesters to 14. Besides Kaepernick, there's Reid, Lane, Marshall, Peters, Foster, Thomas, Jenkins, Stills, Devin McCourty, Bennett, Casey, Jason McCourty and Woodyard.

Based on the mostly positive reception that the 11 newest protesters saw in Week 1, it won't be a surprise to see more players join the cause as the season continues.