Seattle Seahawks center Connor Williams has retired for personal reasons, coach Mike Macdonald announced on Friday.
Coach Macdonald clarified that Williams’ decision to retire is not related to the ACL injury he suffered last year, which required surgery.
“We’re going to honor his wishes and keep all those reasons and conversations private for obvious reasons, and I wish them the best,” Macdonald said.
Williams, 27, was in his seventh NFL season. He signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks in August and started every game this season. However, he did not participate in practice this week. The Seahawks, with a 4-5 record, are scheduled to play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Williams was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2018 draft. He spent four seasons with the Cowboys and then played for the Miami Dolphins for two years. He tore his ACL last December.
Olu Oluwatimi, a fifth-round pick in 2023, is expected to replace Williams. Oluwatimi made one start last season and has played in four games this year.
“Obviously it’s an unforeseen circumstance that you’ve kind of got to take on head-on, but the silver lining in the whole thing is we get to see Olu go do his thing,” Macdonald said. “This guy has been working really hard. Basically started at center for us the whole offseason until we signed Connor.”
