Clive Walford Injury: Updates on Raiders TE's Knee and Return After ATV Accident

Oakland Raiders tight end Clive Walford will miss the team's spring practices after suffering a knee injury in an ATV accident, per FoxSports.com's Mike Garafolo and Peter Schrager. 

Continue for updates. 

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Walford Likely to Return by Training Camp

Tuesday, May 3

A source told Garafolo and Schrager that the injury "may not be as bad as originally thought."

The Raiders spent a third-round pick on the tight end out of Miami in 2015, and his rookie year didn't get off to the best start. According to Jimmy Durkin of the East Bay Times, Walford missed 12 of Oakland's first 14 training camp practices, which limited his ability to get reps in Bill Musgrave's offense.

However, Walford steadily emerged as a key component of Oakland's aerial attack over the last couple of months of the season. He caught 28 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns, and Pro Football Focus graded him the 14th-best tight end (74.6) in the league.

According to head coach Jack Del Rio, Walford is "a good-size guy that is a very capable blocker, who is also a guy who has the athleticism to be a threat as a route runner," per the San Francisco Chronicle's Vic Tafur. "So when you combine those things, you feel like he’s got a lot of upside in terms of being a complete tight end, a guy who can do a little bit of both."

Although missing spring practice would set Walford back somewhat ahead of the 2016 season, his preparations won't be affected too much if he can make it back in time for training camp.