John Schneider Breaks Down Seattle Seahawks Signing of Connor Williams

The Seattle Seahawks were persistent in their desire to sign offensive lineman Connor Williams, who could be ready to play Week 1 after suffering a torn ACL in December.

Jan 15, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Miami Dolphins guard Connor Williams (58) snaps the ball to Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson (19) during a wild card game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks were eager to add some talent to the offensive line this summer, and they did so by persistently pursuing veteran offensive lineman Connor Williams. The seventh-year pro has played both guard and center at a high level and most recently served at the latter spot for the Miami Dolphins.

Williams, 27, is coming off a torn ACL he sustained in December, but he is hoping to work his way back to the field as soon as possible. When he was signed, the idea was Williams could be ready to play Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 8 — completing a remarkable recovery timeline.

The Seahawks' bid for Williams was a long process that began in OTAs back in mid-June, general manager John Schneider said when speaking to local media on Wednesday. When Williams' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, publicly stated the former Dolphin had undergone a 'miraculous' recovery in a short time, Schneider and the Seahawks latched on.

"We have a great relationship with his agent, so we trusted it, and we jumped in as quickly as we could and tried to get in line," Schneider said. "And Connor's a very talented player, obviously worked his tail off to get back ... then credit to [Seahawks director of pro personnel] Willie Schneider; he just kept sticking with it and calling every week, just grinding on his agent and Drew and making sure that we were still going to have the opportunity to visit him first."

Williams visited Seattle on July 23, and passed a physical. There were other teams trying to also sign him, including the Baltimore Ravens. The Seahawks tried to stay at the front of the line.

"He came in and had a great workout, a great visit, went through all the testing with us, and we figured out where he was, and then we probably had maybe two or three weeks in there where we worked with him to try to get right and come on in," Schneider added. "He got close to signing with two other clubs, and yeah, we just stuck with it."

The Seahawks now have a veteran center who can be an anchor for the offensive line, a unit that struggled in 2023. However, Williams' versatile skillset to move virtually anywhere on the offensive line has Schneider believing that the unit can be far better in 2024.

"He's played up and down the line of scrimmage, played outside in college, and moved inside to play center," Schneider said. "[Senior director of player personnel] Matt Berry really liked him as a center ... I would say the quickness, intelligence, leadership, toughness, second level, his movement stuff is you can see him on screens and stuff out running in space and he's just got a really cool spatial awareness to him when he is out there and he's a really good athlete for his size."

It remains to be seen if Williams will be ready for the Seahawks opener on Sunday, Sept. 8 against the Denver Broncos, but when he eventually makes his return, Seattle will have a more well-rounded offensive line.

"We don't know that yet," Schneider said of Williams' status for Week 1. "I think that will be up to Mike [Macdonald], the coaching staff, the offensive coaches, and [team health officials] Sam [Ramsden] and [David Strickland] to see how everybody feels about it. He's doing whatever we can to get ready."