Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III has admitted that he will not try to play through pain in the future, having picked up a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury in the playoffs of the 2012 season.

RG III was initially injured by a hit from Haloti Ngata, but continued to play intermittently until his ligament was torn.

Griffin, who is still going through the rehabilitation process, said that next time he gets such a hit he will sit out until he has fully recovered.

"Your survivor instinct kicks in," Griffin told ESPN. "You're like, 'I'm a warrior. I'm a beast. I do all these things, I can push through adversity'.

"If I had another incident like the Ngata hit, I'm out of the game. You pull yourself out at that point. You learn from your mistakes."

Griffin is expected to return for the start of the 2013 season.