NFL notes: Robert Griffin III returns as Browns starting QB

Three months later, Robert Griffin III is starting anew with the Browns.

RG3 wants to make the wait worth it.

“It’s all about being in the right situation at the right time,” he said Thursday.

Griffin, who didn’t make it out of Cleveland’s season opener without getting hurt, will make his second start on Sunday when the 0-12 Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals.

Griffin hasn’t played since breaking a bone in his left shoulder in the Sept. 11 season opener at Philadelphia, an injury that only strengthened the argument that he’s brittle and set the stage for the worst stretch in Browns history.

But after showing coach Hue Jackson in practice that he’s healthy and ready, Griffin will make just his second start since 2014.

It’s another chance to show doubters that he’s durable and perhaps the beginning of a four-game audition to prove to the Browns that he can be their long-term answer at quarterback.

“My job is to go out there and make them believe that,” he said. “Every single day that you come into the building, you have to show the coaches, show the organization you’re going to do what it takes to be that guy.

“That doesn’t change just because they name you the starter or just because you’re playing. It’s an everyday thing. Not just a Sunday thing.

“That’s always been my focus is to come in here and show my teammates that I can do this for them. If we all do our job equally, we can go out there and win football games and that’s the bottom line.”

Mangold’s season ends

Nick Mangold’s season is over – and so might his tenure with the New York Jets.

The star center was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury after aggravating it during the Jets’ 41-10 loss to Indianapolis on Monday night.

He flew to North Carolina to visit orthopedic specialist Dr. Robert Anderson to get another look at his sprained right ankle.

The 32-year-old Mangold, a first-round pick in 2006 and the longest-tenured player on the team, is due nearly $6.075 million in base salary next year and the Jets could save $9.075 million on the salary cap by cutting him.

Around the league

Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian took a big step – whether that’s forward or back depends on how his sprained left heel responds to his first practice since getting hurt against Kansas City on Nov. 27. “It was a positive day, so we’ll see where we’re at tomorrow,” coach Gary Kubiak said after splitting snaps between Siemian and rookie Paxton Lynch at his first full practice of the week. … Police are investigating a break-in and the scrawling of racist graffiti at the New Jersey home of a New York Giants player. The break-in at Nikita Whitlock’s home is being investigated as a hate crime, Moonachie police said.