Browns QB Robert Griffin III is hungry to compete and rebound from this tough times he had in Washington, where he was demoted to third-string last year.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Robert Griffin III has plenty of emotional and physical scars from his four years in Washington, but insists they're not too deep.
"What I learned most was just the love that's inside of me for this game of football,'' the Browns' new quarterback said on a conference call Thursday shortly after signing his two-year deal. "What happened down there would break a lot of people, and I thank God for the people He surrounded me with to help me get through that time and to show me this is what I'm supposed to do.
"This is my calling. I'm real excited to have another opportunity to grow with a coach who believes in me. That's big. Now I've just got to go out and prove it."
He acknowledged that being demoted to third team last season behind Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy was rough, after earning NFL Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors in 2012.
"I wouldn't be where I am today if that wasn't tough on me last year,'' he said. "But I learned a lot, grew a lot, dedicated myself to make sure I took the time after practice every day for an hour to continue to work because I knew I'd be presented with an opportunity like this coming in the off-season if I continued to work.''
And if the Browns draft Cal's Jared Goff or North Dakota State's Carson Wentz? The Browns are considering both prospects, and Jackson was at the pro day of Wentz Thursday while the Browns were signing Griffin.
"You compete," Griffin said. "I'm just excited about the opportunity. After not playing football for a year, I'm real appreciative of the Browns stepping up and giving me an opportunity to go out and grow with their team, compete on a daily basis and lead the team. I'm real excited about that.
"And if they draft a quarterback, I'll take the guy under my wing. I'm considered a vet now after four years in the league and I've been through a lot more than a lot of guys go through their entire career. I've got a lot of experience and I can help a young guy.
"If they draft a quarterback, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm just ready to compete."
5 pressing questions about Robert Griffin III
Griffin, who signed the two-year deal Thursday worth $15 million, including $6.75 million guaranteed, is also excited about the possibility of being reunited with his former Baylor teammate Josh Gordon. The NFL has yet to rule whether Gordon will be reinstated from his indefinite suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
"Yeah, man, Josh is family,'' he said. "We went to Baylor together. I love the guy. I don't know what's going to happen with him and the league or with the team, but he always knows he has a brother in me, so if the opportunity comes that he can get reinstated and play for the Browns then I won't be upset with that, let's just put it that way. He is family and at Baylor we believe that no matter what happens we've always got your back."
As for whether or not he's talked to Gordon, "No, I just try to be there for Josh as much as I possibly can. It would be a lot of fun. But you've just got to take things one step at a time and he's taking care of the business. He knows I'm there for him.''
Robert Griffin III signs 2-year, $15 million deal with Browns
Griffin said starting in 2016 isn't foremost in his mind. Last year, after working to develop as a pocket passer, he was benched and didn't take a regular-season snap. After going 9-7 in his sensational rookie season, he's gone 5-15 in the three years since.
"This isn't about me, to be honest with you,'' he said. "I really just want to go out, help this team win football games and I believe in what coach Hue is preaching, I believe in Pep Hamilton and what they plan to do, so that's really what it's about for me.
"It's about the team, it's about coach believing in this team and this city, otherwise he wouldn't have taken the job and if didn't believe in what I could do he wouldn't have brought me to Cleveland with him, so I'm just really excited about the opportunity. It's not about me or my career. It's about this team and growing with this team and that's what I set out to do."
Griffin's career was derailed, in part, by all of his injuries in Washington, including torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments from his rookie year and a dislocated ankle that cost him six games in 2014.
"I feel great,'' he said. "God's been good through all the years. Maybe I'll write a book about it later, but right now, I'm not focused on that kind of stuff and really, really happy to be feeling good and moving forward."
Griffin, 26, acknowledged that Browns coach Hue Jackson is primary reason he believes this can work.
"Just his excitement for the game, the passion that he has and dedication,'' he said. "You have those things and things will eventually turn in your favor. He's got a proven track record of working with quarterbacks, working with teams and molding the offense to what the team has. I look forward to growing with him.''
Griffin knows he's got a lot of work to do "to not only get back to where I was personally in 2012, but to where we want to be as a team and where I want to be as a professional, so I'm ready to work, never been afraid of that and I'm looking forward to being able to do that with my teammates coming up on April 4th.''
Watching from the sidelines last year made Griffin appreciate the game even more, and as Jackson said, it humbled him.
"I learned it's a beautiful game that we play, it's a privilege to play the game and really just how much you have to love the game to go through some of the ups and downs,'' he said. "I'm looking forward to growing with Cleveland, growing with coach Hue and Pep (Hamilton) and my teammates to do something special here in Cleveland.''
Four years ago, Griffin and his agent thought he was coming to Cleveland with the No. 2 overall pick, but the Redskins beat them out in the trade up with the Rams.
"We were ready then and we're more than ready now,'' he said.