Former NFL tight end Ben Watson responded Tuesday to the backlash over Drew Brees' comments about kneeling during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" Tuesday, telling the "The Story" that it's important to "have differing views on things like this and still respect each other’s stance."

"His stance has been his stance for a very long time, but even within that there is some nuance," Watson, a former teammate of Brees on the New Orleans Saints, told host Martha MacCallum. "I think that right now, especially with what the country is going through, it is about how you phrase your statements and about empathy and listening.

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"This is going to be one of those rallying cries for that team, especially," Watson went on, "but also around the league when you see people go through this kind of transformation of having certain convictions which are fine, but being able to speak to and to listen to the opinions in the views of others."

Brees apologized multiple times last week after he told Yahoo Finance that he would "never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country."

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Watson said that while there was "nothing wrong" with Brees' comment "in and of itself," "it's about listening and feeling the tone of what is going on in the country."

"We are here and people are protesting and really hurt, and struggling over years of injustice," Watson explained.

At the same time, the 15-year pro acknowledged that "we need to have differing views on things like this and still respect each other’s stance."

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.