Seahawks center Connor Williams is retiring for personal reasons

SEATTLE – Seattle Seahawks center Connor Williams is retiring for personal reasons, coach Mike Macdonald said Friday.

The Seahawks coach said Williams’ departure had nothing to do with the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered last year that required surgery.

“We will honor his wishes and keep all of those reasons and conversations confidential for obvious reasons and I wish them the best,” Macdonald said.

Williams, in his seventh NFL season, signed a one-year contract in August and has started every game this season.

The 27-year-old player did not participate in training this week. The Seahawks (4-5) will visit the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Williams was drafted in the second round by the Cowboys in 2018 and spent his first four seasons in Dallas before playing two years in Miami. He tore his ACL last December.

Williams is expected to be replaced by Olu Oluwatimi, a 2023 fifth-round pick who was a starter last year and has played in four games this season.

“Obviously it’s an unpredictable situation that you kind of have to confront head on, but the silver lining in the whole thing is that we saw Olu go and do his job,” Macdonald said. “This guy is really working hard. We started at center all season until we signed Connor.”