The Seattle Seahawks will need to replace a key part of their offensive line after starting center Connor Williams decided to retire, according to head coach Mike Macdonald.
Williams, 27, was in the middle of his seventh NFL season and his first with the Seahawks. He had started all nine of Seattle’s games and played all 618 offensive snaps for the team in 2024.
There had already been some speculation that Williams could miss the Seahawks’ Week 11 game against the San Francisco 49ers after he missed each of the team’s practices on Wednesday and Thursday for ‘personal reasons.’ On Friday, Macdonald revealed why.
‘Connor earlier this week decided to retire,’ Macdonald told reporters. ‘Personal reasons. We respect that. Wish him the best. We’ve got to move forward.’
Williams played four seasons at left guard for the Dallas Cowboys after the team selected him in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft. In 2022 and 2023, he was the starting center for the Miami Dolphins and started all 26 games he played for them. Williams signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks in August.
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The veteran lineman’s career was marred by a couple of ACL tears, the first of which came in 2019. Williams suffered the second late last year but had recovered in time for the Seahawks’ Week 1 game this year.
Second-year lineman Olu Oluwatimi will take over as the team’s starting center and is in line to make his second career start – and first of the season – on Sunday.
Connor Williams’ contract
Williams signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks that was worth up to $6 million with $2.98 million guaranteed.
However, the $2.51 million in incentives included a $1 million bonus if he played 75% or more of Seattle’s offensive snaps, and another $1 million if he played that percentage of snaps and the Seahawks made the playoffs. The remaining $510,000 was labeled as ‘per-game bonuses,’ or $30,000 per game, according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson.
By deciding to retire after nine games, Williams is seemingly giving up $2 million in snap-count incentives and $240,000 in per-game bonus money.
Seattle Seahawks center depth chart
With Williams retiring, here’s how the Seahawks’ depth chart looks at center for the remainder of 2024:
Olu Oluwatimi
Jalen Sundell
Oluwatimi was a fifth-round pick for Seattle last year. He’s played in 20 games in his career with one start at center in 2023. The second-year pro has played in four games for the Seahawks in 2024, with four offensive snaps and 15 snaps on special teams.
Sundell was an undrafted free agent signing by Seattle this offseason. A product of North Dakota State, the rookie has played in four games for the Seahawks this year. He’s played one snap on offense and 27 snaps on special teams.