Seahawks center Connor Williams abruptly retires

Seattle Seahawks center Connor Williams’ time in the NFL is over.

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Head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters Friday that the 27-year-old offensive lineman is retiring due to personal reasons. He said second-year pro Olu Oluwatimi will get the start at center on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Macdonald said he doesn’t believe Williams will change his mind and return this season.

“We’re gonna honor his wishes and keep all those reasons and conversations private for obvious reasons, and I wish him the best,” Macdonald said. “… (Oluwatimi has) been working his tail off and he’s got a great opportunity. We’re excited to see him play.”

Williams, in his seventh NFL season, hadn’t practiced this week due to personal reasons.

The Texas product signed one-year deal worth up to $6 million with the Seahawks at the start of training camp in August. He had appeared in all nine games and taken every snap at center during the regular season.

Williams played guard for the Dallas Cowboys during his first four pro seasons and made the switch to center during his two-year stint with the Miami Dolphins.

In Miami, Williams emerged as one of the game’s best centers. Pro Football Focus rated Williams as the league’s fourth-best center in 2022 and second-best in 2023. But he suffered a season-ending ACL tear last December and never found his footing in Seattle.

Williams ranks 18th out of 38 centers in the league this season and has had issues with shotgun snaps multiple times, including one from the 2-yard line that went for a 20-yard loss and cost the Seahawks a chance at a touchdown in their Oct. 27 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Oluwatimi, a fifth-round pick in 2023 out of Michigan, has appeared in four games this season with 15 of his 19 snaps coming on special teams.

Macdonald said undrafted rookie free agent Jalen Sundell will be Oluwatimi’s backup.

“He’s a guy that’s been knocking on the door for a while,” Macdonald said of Oluwatimi. “Obviously it’s a unforeseen circumstance that you kind of got to take on head on, but the silver lining in the whole thing is that we get to see Olu go do his thing. This guy’s been working really hard, basically played at center for us the whole offseason until we signed Connor. So we had a really good week of practice with Connor not here and onward we go.”

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