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Brady Henderson, ESPN
RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks are shooting to have Connor Williams available for their Sept. 8 regular season opener, which will be less than nine months after the veteran center tore an ACL.
“That’s the goal right now,” coach Mike Macdonald said Monday when asked if Williams playing in Week 1 is realistic.
The first step will be returning to the practice field. Williams dressed for practice on Monday a day after his signing became official — wearing No. 57 and even donning a helmet — but he didn’t take part in anything.
“We’ve got a pretty good plan in place now,” Macdonald said. “He’ll be with the sports performance folks for the next week or so until we can get him full speed for practice, but we’re shooting for either [next] week or after to get him out here practicing for real.”
That would give Williams, 27, either two or three weeks of on-field work before Seattle opens the regular season at home against the Denver Broncos.
In the meantime, Olu Oluwatimi is expected to continue taking the first-team reps at center. Oluwatimi had been leading Nick Harris in the battle for that starting job, but neither player distinguished himself, leading Seattle to turn to Williams. The one-year deal he agreed to last week and signed on Sunday is worth up to $6 million with $3 million guaranteed, Williams’ agents told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Seahawks cleared a roster spot for Williams, as well as $1.395 million in cap space, by trading Harris and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in exchange for a 2026 sixth-rounder.
“It was just an opportunity to get a great player on our football team,” Macdonald said. “It’s really that simple.”
Williams, a second-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018, played guard for his first four seasons before moving to center when he signed a two-year, $14 million deal with the Miami Dolphins in 2022. He was having a strong season before he went down with the second ACL tear of his career.
Williams, listed on the Seahawks’ roster at 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, said he is at his playing weight.
“I feel great,” he said. “I’m probably about 95 percent. I’m getting there. Strength is getting there. Pretty symmetrical, honestly, so I think we’re just devising a plan to slowly work back in and slowly get me on the field.”
Williams’ ACL was repaired by Dr. Daniel Cooper, the orthopedic surgeon and Cowboys team physician who also repaired the ACL on Williams’ other knee when he tore it in 2019.
“Obviously, Dr. Cooper did a great job, and I followed his progression with it,” he said. “You’re walking without a crutch two months out, you’re jogging three or four [months out] and then you’re slowly ramping up from there.”
The Seahawks will fly to Nashville on Tuesday for a pair of joint practices with the Tennessee Titans later this week ahead of their preseason game Saturday at Nissan Stadium. Macdonald wasn’t sure if Williams would travel with the team or stay behind since he isn’t yet able to practice.
“I’m excited to see Connor come out here and do his thing,” the coach said. “Haven’t seen him live yet with us. Like I said, we’ve got a great plan with him, and we’ll see where he’s at in a week or so.”