What Connor Williams’ retirement means for Seahawks’ O-line

Nov 16, 2024, 4:04 PM | Updated: 4:06 pm

Seattle Seahawks Connor Williams Los Angeles Rams 2024...

Seattle Seahawks center Connor Williams drops back to block against the Rams on Sunday. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

BY ZAC HERETH

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks are experiencing significant change on their offensive line.

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And it’s not just the long-awaited return of right tackle Abraham Lucas.

On Friday, head coach Mike Macdonald announced the surprising news that 27-year-old starting center Connor Williams was retiring from football midseason due to personal reasons.

Williams, who signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks at the start of training camp, had started all nine games and played every snap at center this season.

The news broke while Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy were on air. Seahawks Radio Network analyst Michael Bumpus and Stacy Rost gave their instant reaction to the unexpected news and assessed what it means for the offensive line moving forward.

“He hasn’t had the greatest season and he’s a veteran who signed a one-year deal who was hoping to rejuvenate his career,” said Bumpus, a former NFL player. “I hope this isn’t just an emotional decision he’s making. I hope he’s OK with it because, I mean, you can come out of retirement, but to leave a team midseason, it says a lot.”

“I would imagine during the bye week he did a lot of reflecting. He had time to think about it,” Bumpus added. “… At least he’s walking away from the game on his own terms. A lot of people get booted out the league and you never come back.”

Williams had his share of struggles with Seattle while coming back from an torn ACL that ended his 2023 season with the Miami Dolphins in December. After ranking fourth and second, respectively, among centers in Pro Football Focus grading over the past two seasons, Williams graded out as 18th among 38 centers this season.

Some of his most evident struggles were on shotgun snaps in recent games. Williams sent three snaps over quarterback Geno Smith’s over the past two games, including one near the goal line that cost the Seahawks a chance a touchdown in their Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“When I looked at those snaps that went over Geno’s head, Geno wasn’t ready. He just wasn’t ready for them,” Bumpus said. “And if there’s anyone who knows the snap count and knows when to be ready, it’s going to be Geno, right? So there had to be some miscommunication going on there.”

Next man up

Second-year pro Olu Oluwatimi will be the starter at center Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, Macdonald said Friday.

Oluwatimi, a fifth-round pick out of Michigan, played in 16 games and made one start as a rookie last season. He was in a battle with Nick Harris for the starting center job when training camp started, but moved to the backup role when Williams was signed. Oluwatimi has played just 19 snaps (four on offense) in four games this season.

“I think some people can look at this situation and be optimistic because you’re gonna see Olu, you’re gonna see a little bit of Abe and this could spark something,” Bumpus said.

Rost asked what the move could do for the chemistry of Seattle’s O-line, which has had a revolving door at right tackle and a position battle for much of the season at right guard.

“Well, here’s the reality of the situation: Connor wasn’t playing very well,” Bumpus said. “So you get some fresh blood out there, you get new energy, you get a different type of player. And it does kind of mess up the chemistry because even though Connor wasn’t playing his best, he still knew (left guard) Laken (Tomlinson) and (right guard) Anthony Bradford, and they would communicate and there are some things that they could communicate without even speaking.”

Even if there are some communication issues that need to be worked out, Bumpus is eager to see what a new-look Seahawks offensive line can do moving forward.

“Olu has been getting some reps with the ones. He got reps with the ones in training camp and then throughout the season he’s been sprinkled in there as well,” he said. “The reason why Connor was brought here was to kind of mentor Oluwatimi and provide competition at that spot, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m sure Olu learned some things from Connor Williams and provided some competition. This happens in sports all the time. A lot of people get opportunities because of one’s failures or another guy moves on, and this is the circle of life in the NFL. It’s unfortunate, but now I’m kind of excited to see what this line looks like.”

Listen to the full conversation at this link or watch the video in this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.