BEREA, Ohio -- When the Browns grilled Robert Griffin III with tough questions last month, he took responsibility for his downfall in Washington and convinced them he wouldn't squander an opportunity to resurrect his NFL career.
He allayed their concerns about previous clashes with coaches and the perception he's a bad teammate. They signed him to a two-year, $15 million contract less than a week after the interrogation took place during his visit to team headquarters.
"You just have to learn from what happened, learn from mistakes, take your success and try to build upon that, so that's really what we're trying to do here," Griffin said Wednesday during his introductory news conference. "I'm not trying to let any baggage hold me down from the past, but I do have a massive chip on my shoulder. I know this team has a massive chip on its shoulder."
Griffin's new team is trying to recover from years of misery, a 3-13 record and another overhaul of its coaching staff and front office. The Browns have started 24 quarterbacks since 1999 and they're hoping he can help stabilize the position.
"No pressure, no diamonds," he said.
Meanwhile, Griffin is trying to revive his career after descending from NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, a Pro Bowl selection and face of the NFC East champions in 2012 to a third-string player who didn't take a snap last season and served as a scout-team safety in some practices. "If you say you are humble, then you are not humble, so I can't say that," Griffin said. " ... I do think I am more experienced, and I kind of know how to navigate the waters. That will help me as a player here. It will help me as a player to lead this team." Although Griffin won't say it, the Browns believe his fall from grace humbled him.
"The conversations that we had with him, the opportunity to sit and talk about football with him, the opportunity to sit and talk about his past and what was good and what could we fix, those were the things that I felt very strongly about," Browns coach Hue Jackson said. "I think he showed me that he's grown, that he's learned, he understands that sometimes we all play roles when things don't go well. It's not just one side or the other, that he had a hand in that as well and that he wanted to move beyond that and grow and become better. And, obviously, that's what he's doing."
Griffin's contract suggests the Browns view him as a bridge starter. They own the second and 32nd overall picks in the April 28-30 draft and could still select their quarterback of the future early.
Nevertheless, Griffin expects nothing less than to secure the starting gig.
"No one's going to step on anybody's toes," he said. "But we're all here to compete, all here to win a job, and at the end of the day, do what we can to help this team win."
The second overall pick in the 2012 draft and former Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor University is carrying himself like a starter. He called several teammates before players reported Monday for the start of the team's voluntary offseason workout program.
"I know the history a little bit of Cleveland, and guys sometimes don't want to come here," Griffin said. "I wanted to come here, and I wanted them to know that. They call this 'the Land,' so we're going to make this ours and really give these fans what they deserve. But I really just tried to echo to them that I am excited to be here. I'm excited to work with them, and it's going to take all of us."
Griffin, 26, hasn't been the same player since he suffered a torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his right knee during a postseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 6, 2013. He's 5-15 as a starter since then.
On the other hand, he's receiving a fresh start with a coach known for maximizing the potential of quarterbacks.
"I don't think it's just about me reviving his career," Jackson said. "RG3 is going to do the work. My job is to create the environment for him to do the work and do everything I can to help and assist him be the best he can be. You have to have a player that's willing to accept that, and he has from Day One. He's done everything we've asked him to do. The young man comes early and stays late."
And the Browns are convinced he's healthy despite a long history of injuries -- he's torn the ACL in his right knee twice (the other time in college), dislocated his left ankle and suffered two concussions. He passed a physical with the Browns and looked sharp while working out for them.
"He's healthy," Jackson said. "There's no question about that."
He's wiser, too.
Asked if he still believes he can be the best quarterback in the NFL like he's claimed in the past, Griffin said, "I'm not going to get caught in that one again, but you have to have a belief. What you believe on the inside comes out in the way you approach the game and the way your teammates see you, so you have to have confidence. ... Confidence, you either have it or you don't, so I don't think that will ever be an issue."
Griffin insisted he's grown a lot since 2012 and knows "there's things that I could've done differently" in Washington.
For example, he learned quarterbacks often receive too much credit for winning and too much blame for losing. Through it all, they can never point fingers at their coaches or teammates in times of adversity.
"One little slip up makes it a national story, and I think that's what happened to me through my experience as a player in Washington and I know that now," Griffin said. "After a loss, you can't be emotional and say things that are meant to be behind closed doors or might be taken the wrong way because that's just the way it is. So I understand that now, and I don't hold that against anybody else. I just know what I have to do as a player and as a leader of this team, and I'm going to do that."
The Browns have faith he'll keep his promise and redeem himself after hitting rock bottom last year.
"You love to do something so much and when that's stripped away from you, one of two things can happen: You can either tank it and allow it to break you, or you can let it build you up and show you that you really love this game," Griffin said. "It was a process last year, but I come here today more excited to be with these guys, and I know that the passion in that locker room is reciprocated on what we want to do here."
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