Connor Williams (American Football)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Connor Williams (born May 12, 1997) is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
center. He played in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
,
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
, and
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
. He was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the
2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...
. He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.


Early life

Williams attended
Coppell High School Coppell High School is a public high school located in Coppell, Texas. It is part of the Coppell Independent School District located in extreme northwest Dallas County. Overview The school graduated its first class of twenty-five students in ...
. As a freshman, he started the last 3 games at
right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...
. As a sophomore, he was moved to
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
, but by the end of the season he was switched to
left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...
. As a senior, he was a two-way player, allowing one sack and one holding penalty, while making 38 tackles (5 for loss), 3 sacks, 5 quarterback pressures, 5 forced fumbles and 2 passes defensed. He was a second-team 6A All-State and an All-district selection. Williams was a teammate of future
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
player
Solomon Thomas Solomon Christopher Thomas (born August 26, 1995) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected third ove ...
. He also played
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
.


College career

Williams accepted a football scholarship from the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
. As a freshman, he started all 12 games at
left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...
. As a sophomore, he started 11 out of 12 games at
left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...
and was considered by the media and coaches one of the best
offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...
s in
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
. He became just the fourth sophomore in school history to receive consensus first-team
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
honors. As a junior, he suffered a left knee injury in the third game against
USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...
. He returned to play in the eleventh game against
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...
. He started only five out of 12 games at
left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...
(first 3 and final 2 regular season contests). On November 27, 2017, Williams announced that he would forgo his senior year in favor of the
2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...
, and that he would not play in the
2017 Texas Bowl The 2017 Texas Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 27, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Sponsored by the Academy Sports + Outdoors sporting goods company, it was officially known as the Academy Sports + Outdo ...
.


Professional career


Dallas Cowboys

Williams was selected by the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
in the second round (50th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft, with the intention of playing him at
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...
. He was named the starting left guard, starting the first eight games before being benched in Week 10 in favor of Xavier Su'a-Filo. He then started two games at right guard in place of an injured Zack Martin. In 2019, he entered the season as the Cowboys' starting left guard. He started 11 games, missing one due to arthroscopic knee surgery, before suffering a torn right ACL in Week 13. He was placed on injured reserve on December 1, 2019. In 2020, he was able to recover from a torn ACL to start all 16 games at left guard for the first time in his career, missing just one snap on offense (in the season opener). He also had to adjust to four different starting
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
s during the season. In 2021, although he was tried briefly at center during training camp, he remained at his traditional left guard position. His play regressed during the first 10 weeks, when he led the league with 13 penalties (8 for holding). He was benched the next 4 games in favor of third-year guard Connor McGovern. As a backup, he was able to show his versatility when he suited up at fullback in one game. He got his starting position back in Week 15, but struggled in the final five games of the season, ranking second in the league with 15 penalties (13 for holding). He also had problems in the Wild Card playoff loss against the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
, receiving 2 key penalties. He still managed to finish the year with the fewest pressures allowed by any Cowboy offensive lineman to start a game and surrendered only one sack.


Miami Dolphins

On March 17, 2022, Williams signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
. He was switched to center and named the starter over Michael Deiter during organized team activities. He started in all 17 games, allowing 3 sacks and 6 penalties. He was the only player to participate in 100 percent of the offensive snaps (1,057) for the team. On June 6, 2023, Williams was not present for mandatory mini-camp with the Dolphins. Head Coach
Mike McDaniel Michael Lee McDaniel (born March 6, 1983) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time assistant and descendant of the Mike S ...
confirmed it was not an excused absence, as Williams was looking for a contract extension. During training camp, he confirmed he was "focused on football, straight on," while the Dolphins waited to make cap space. On August 8, 2023, Williams started the
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
NFL season as the first-string center on the depth chart. On August 29, Dan Feeney was traded to the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
, leaving Williams as the first-string center. In Week 3 against the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, Williams suffered a groin injury. He was marked inactive the following Sunday against the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
, with
Liam Eichenberg William G. Eichenberg (; born January 19, 1998) is an American professional American football, football Guard (gridiron football), guard for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame ...
replacing him. He suffered a season-ending left ACL tear in Week 14 against the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
and was placed on injured reserve on December 13, 2023. He appeared in 9 games during the season, allowing six quarterback pressures and one sack on 280 pass blocking snaps.


Seattle Seahawks

On August 6, 2024, Williams agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract with the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
. During the offseason there were concerns about his chances to rebound from the injury, which caused the Dolphins to move on from him and sign Aaron Brewer instead. He was able to recover from his previous injury in only nine months and was named the starting center for the season opener. On November 15, Williams abruptly retired from the NFL at 27 years old, midway through the 2024 season. He started all of his nine games and played every offensive snap at center. In his last two contests, he struggled with some errant shotgun snaps, including one that caused a 19-yard loss in Week 8. He was replaced by Olu Oluwatimi.


Personal life

Williams' brother, Dalton, also played football for Stephen F. Austin and
Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...
. He has been outspoken about his experiences with bullies in
middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
. His mother is of Mexican descent.


References


External links


Texas Longhorns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Connor Living people 1997 births All-American college football players American football offensive tackles American sportspeople of Mexican descent Dallas Cowboys players Sportspeople from Coppell, Texas Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas Players of American football from Denton County, Texas Texas Longhorns football players Miami Dolphins players Coppell High School alumni Seattle Seahawks players Hispanic and Latino American players of American football