It's officially "RG3 at OTAs Day" in the NFL. The second-year pro participated in the Washington Redskins' first practice session of the offseason Thursday and was fairly active, even though he only worked out with other players who are rehabbing.
We've reached the point where it's national news if Robert Griffin III speaks. This was the first time he talked to the assembled NFL media since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the playoffs last season. Here's what we learned from his expansive session:
1. Griffin's seemingly rapid recovery has the quarterback focused on a new target. He wants to be fully ready by the start of training camp, according to our man on the scene, NFL.com's Albert Breer.
2. Breer notes Griffin already can drop back, plant and pass. (Breer, NFL.com's answer to Steven Soderbergh, even taped some footage.) Griffin threw balls to injured Redskins receivers like Pierre Garcon and Fred Davis. One reporter described Griffin as "spry."
"I've been doing some real groundwork," Griffin said. "The knee feels great."
3. Next on Griffin's recovery to-do list: "explosive cutting" and "sprinting." Those hurdles could be cleared in the next month or so. Despite the accelerated timeline, Griffin doesn't want to force anything before he's ready.
"Yes, I'm all-in for Week 1, but I'm also all-in the rest of my career," he said.
Griffin reminded everyone that he's on his own timeline.
"I'm not Adrian (Peterson). Adrian's not me. Everybody's a little different.
4.RG3 got emotional while talking about waking up from surgery.
"It's tough for me to talk about it, it was tough. Yeah, I cried, real men cry, it doesn't matter," Griffin said. "As soon as we finished a little cry festival, I put the date of the first week in my phone."
5. Griffin also tried to quell any concerns that there is lingering resentment over how Redskins coach Mike Shanahan handled him last season.
"The only thing that needed to be repaired was my knee," Griffin said. "Me and Mike hashed everything out, we talked. We're moving forward from it. We're on the same page."
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6. Griffin and his coach also seem to be on the same page about the quarterback playing "smarter" and avoiding hits. He wants to move past the injury.
"Everything that happened with the injury clouded the success we had in the season and I think left a bad taste in the mouth of everybody: The media, players, coaches and fans -- everybody," Griffin said.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
