The Seahawks lost their starting center to sudden retirement midway through the season.
Connor Williams has retired from the NFL at just 27 years old, Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald has confirmed.
“Conor decided to retire earlier this week,” McDonald said during media availability on Friday. “Personal reasons. We respect that. We wish him the best. We have to move on.”
McDonald was asked if there was a chance Williams would change his mind, but the coach expected the decision to be final.
“I can't believe that,” McDonald said. “We respect his wishes and keep all of these reasons and conversations private for obvious reasons. We wish him the best.”
Seahawks observers knew Williams could miss this Sunday's game against the 49ers after missing two days of practice earlier this week for “personal reasons.”
Nevertheless, he started every game for Seattle this season and played on every offensive line, so his retirement is a relative shock.
Williams played college football at the University of Texas and was a second-round pick of the Cowboys in the 2018 NFL Draft.
He played four seasons as a guard with the Cowboys and then two seasons as a center with the Dolphins.
He suffered a torn ACL midseason last season and has been open about his struggles coming back from injury after signing a one-year contract worth up to $4 million with the Seahawks this offseason.
“I’m never close to where I want to be.” Williams told the News Tribune last month.. “And I'm a long way from contributing to this team and this offense.”
News Tribune Seahawks reporter Greg Bell said it was “easy to see on his face, it was obvious in his voice” that Williams was disgruntled before he retired.
The Seahawks are 4-5, but a win against San Francisco would immediately move them back into the NFC West standings, with the Cardinals in first place at 6-4.
