Seahawks signing OL Williams to one-year deal

Brady Henderson, ESPNAug 6, 2024, 08:21 PM ET
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RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks are signing veteran offensive lineman Connor Williams to a one-year deal, his agents told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.

The deal, which was negotiated and confirmed by agents Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha, is worth up to $6 million and includes $3 million guaranteed.

Williams, who is expected to play center for Seattle, gives the Seahawks a significant upgrade along an offensive line that was widely considered one of the team’s biggest question marks. The seventh-year veteran is coming off a season-ending knee injury from last December but passed a physical during a visit to Seahawks headquarters at the start of training camp, according to Schefter.

Williams, 27, visited the Baltimore Ravens on Monday. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told 560 WQAM sports radio in Miami earlier Monday that he could join a new team this week. Rosenhaus was responding to a question that asked whether Williams — who tore his ACL on Dec. 11 while playing for the Miami Dolphins — is healthy and whether he’s close to signing somewhere.

“Yeah, yeah, he is healthy. He absolutely is,” Rosenhaus told the radio station. “He’s in negotiations with the Seahawks, and there’s a few other teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if Connor signs within the next 48 to 72 hours. It’s a wonderful development for Connor, who had a heartbreaking injury in the Titans’ Monday night game. He was on his way to a Pro Bowl season and a lucrative contract extension. Tore his ACL and this guy fought so hard. We weren’t even sure if he was going to play this year, and now he’s going to be ready to play in the first game of the season. It’s probably, in my career, without a doubt one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen.”

A second-round pick by the Cowboys out of Texas in 2018, Williams was primarily a left guard over his first four seasons with Dallas, though he also played some right guard as a rookie. He moved to center after signing a two-year, $14 million deal with Miami in March of 2022, starting all 17 games there that season and nine in 2023 before his knee injury.

Mike Macdonald said after Williams’ visit last month that he thought Williams would play center for Seattle if the two sides were to reach a deal. Olu Oluwatimi, a 2023 fifth-round pick, has been leading veteran Nick Harris in the battle to win that job, with neither player distinguishing himself over the first two weeks of camp.

The Seahawks may have to clear some salary cap space in order to make room for his contract. The team had a little over $10 million after signing safety Julian Love to a three-year, $33 million extension early in camp, according to OverTheCap. It is believed that the Seahawks were also up against their cash budget after Love’s deal, which calls for $8 million of his $10.5 million signing bonus to be paid out this year.