The Seattle Seahawks have a rather significant shakeup along their offensive line. On Friday, head coach Mike Macdonald announced that starting center Connor Williams has decided to retire from the NFL.
The 27-year-old was listed as a non-participant in practice throughout the week due to what the team called personal reasons, and now that absence has stabilized in the form of a retirement. The Seahawks are coming off of their Week 10 bye, which appears to have been the time of reflection for Williams to ultimately decide to close the book on his NFL career. Williams had started all nine games for the Seahawks this season. The seven-year veteran was in his first season with Seattle after signing a one-year, $6 million deal back in August.
Williams was coming off of a season-ending ACL tear he suffered in Week 14 of the 2023 season as a member of the Miami Dolphins. That was the second time in his NFL career that he suffered a torn ACL.
The Texas product entered the league as a second-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in 2018. He played his first four years in the league with Dallas before signing a two-year, $14 million deal with the Dolphins in the spring of 2022.
Williams started in 86 of his 92 games played in the regular season.
As for what’s next for Seattle, Olu Oluwatimi is the club’s new starting center as they host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Oluwatimi is a fifth-round pick in 2023 out of Michigan and has one start (Week 7 in 2023) under his belt.