The NFL and the NFL Players Association, have “expressed hope” that they will reach an agreement on what to do about the league’s anthem policy before the 2018 season begins.

After the league put its new anthem policy on hold after a grievance was filed by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the two sides announced that they would participate in what the Washington Post described as “face-to-face meetings.”

“That’s the point of this, to have some conversation to come up with a plan that’s agreeable to both sides. We need to sit down and talk. That’s probably how it should have started out in the first place,” Buffalo Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander told the paper via phone.

Another source told the paper that both sides are sensitive to the fact that the season is only just over a week away even though there is no “hard timeline” or any exact schedule for these promised meetings.

The source also insisted that the policy announced in May was not put on hold due to any demands from the arbitrator for the NFLPA’s grievance. The freeze came on the heels of news that the Miami Dolphins planned to fine players who broke the NFL’s new rule about standing for the anthem.

For his part, Alexander noted that the whole discussion is extremely complicated because different opinions abound even among those on each side.

“There are a lot of moving parts in this. Even on the players’ side, you have people that have different feelings about certain things,” Alexander admitted. “We need to go into this thing with an open mind, both sides, not so polarized. We need to have clear heads and open hearts when we’re talking about these issues.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has again waded into the controversy with a tweet slamming the league for allowing the protests to remain a hot topic.

“The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again – can’t believe it!” Trump tweeted on July 20. “Isn’t it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand. First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay!”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.