Do Cowboys fans remember Connor Williams? The former University of Texas product was part of the hometown, 2018 draft class that appeared to be sending the franchise in the right direction. AT&T Stadium was the location of the festivities that year, one of the first times the NFL allowed cities outside New York to host.
Dallas walked away with what they thought was a foundational class, three players taken in the first three rounds all having an immediate impact on a playoff team which actually went on to win a game.
Nope.
On Friday, Williams became the third of three to end their careers this season. The eyebrow raising thing is, Williams has retired in the middle of a season where he’s started every game for his club, the Seattle Seahawks.
#Seahawks starting C Connor Williams has decided to retire, per coach Mike Macdonald.
Just 27 years old, Williams has started every game for Seattle after overcoming a major knee injury from his time in Miami. pic.twitter.com/KUcR9twtvd
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 15, 2024
Williams left the Cowboys after the 2021 season in free agency, landing with the Miami Dolphins who successfully moved him to center. His knee injury made him a risky proposition in free agency this season, but the Seahawks were reaping the rewards of the small gamble on a one-year, $4 million deal. That is until he abruptly called it a career nine games into the season.
The Cowboys lost their first-round pick that year, LB Leighton Vander Esch, to a neck injury in October of last season; one of several he suffered in his short career. Vander Esch officially called it quits in March.
A few days earlier, the team had released Vander Esch and 2018 third-round WR Michael Gallup. After sustaining a torn ACL in 2021, the team waited and waited for Gallup to recover, but he never again attained the ability he had shown in his first few years in the league.
After signing as a free agent with the Las Vegas Raiders, Gallup also abruptly retired, but on the eve of reporting for training camp.
Now, all three of the club’s premiere picks are gone. No player who was part of the 2018 draft class remains with Dallas, with DE Dorance Armstrong leaving in free agency to join former DC Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders.
Another fourth-round pick, TE Dalton Schultz, left in free agency last year to join the Houston Texans and will return to AT&T Stadium on Monday Night in the Week 11 clash. WR Cedrick Wilson, who was with Williams in Miami for two seasons, is currently on the New Orleans Saints roster and played against the Cowboys in the Week 2 matchup.