ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III turned to a historical figure to summarize his approach since suffering a dislocated ankle: Winston Churchill.
And what Griffin said he learned was that it was time to listen -- a lot. Griffin spoke with the media for the first time since Sept. 15, a day after hurting his left ankle when he merely said that he'd received good news about his ankle.
He did not take questions Friday, but he delivered a statement for his longest answer since the night of his injury. He started it with a quote from the late prime minister of England.
"A quote that I stumbled upon during this process of being injured and being out was by Winston Churchill, and it says, 'Courage is what it takes to stand up and do something. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen,'" Griffin said. "So, during this time, I've been listening, learning, growing as a player in this offense."
Whether or not he keeps sitting, or for how long, remains uncertain. The Redskins have not officially said who will start Monday against Dallas, but all along they've maintained that they're planning on it being Colt McCoy.
Coach Jay Gruden said Friday that nothing has changed: They're preparing McCoy to start Monday and for Griffin to become the starter at some point.
"He's getting more and more reps," Gruden said.
Gruden has made it clear that it's Griffin's job when he's healthy. Griffin's approach returning from this injury differed from when he came back from his knee surgery after the 2012 season. Then, with a full offseason, there was his catchy slogan of "All in for Week 1" and "Operation Patience." There were conflicting sentiments from Griffin and then-coach Mike Shanahan about his recovery.
This time, Griffin has stayed out of the spotlight during this recovery.
"It's our job to help this team win, and I've been there for Kirk [Cousins] and Colt as much as I possibly can," Griffin said, "and being there for this team to make sure they're as ready as possible during this process, and it sucks that I can't get out there and play with them and help them get wins. But I've been listening to the doctors, listening to the trainers, listening to the coaches, and we're not going to rush my ankle. It's a blessing I wasn't hurt as bad as it could have been. It's been a blessing, and I've been recovering right on time. So, that's good. But at the same time, we don't want to rush that.
"And it's Dallas week. We all want to beat Dallas. We know what this game means for our season. So that's what I've been trying to do this week, in making sure I'm ready to go, making sure this team is ready to go, and making sure whoever plays quarterback is ready to go. That's all I've got to say. Beat Dallas."