Starting Seahawks center Connor Williams abruptly retires midseason

In a surprising move, Seattle Seahawks starting center Connor Williams abruptly retired this week, ending his seven-year NFL career midseason. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed the news to reporters on Friday.

Williams, who is 27 years old, has started every game for Seattle this season after signing a one-year deal with the team in August. Per Macdonald, Williams made the choice to retire because of “personal reasons.”

“Connor earlier this week decided to retire,” Macdonald told reporters on Friday. “[We] wish him the best, and, you know, we’ve gotta move forward.”

Macdonald said that Williams is very unlikely to change his mind and return to the field, and that this retirement was probably for good. Besides confirming that Williams’ retirement was for “personal reasons,” the Seahawks coach did not elaborate on the thinking behind the decision.

“We honor his wishes, and keep all those reasons and conversations private for obvious reasons,” Macdonald said.

Williams was drafted out of Texas by the Dallas Cowboys as a second-rounder in 2018. He spent four seasons with the Cowboys before joining the Miami Dolphins and spending two seasons there. Over seven seasons in the NFL, Williams has played in 92 games and started in 86.

Second-year player Olu Oluwatimi will take over as starting center for the Seahawks, per Macdonald.