Former Cowboys 2nd round Olympic draft pick abruptly retires after starting all of 2024, joins unique group

Do Cowboys fans remember Connor Williams? The former University of Texas product was part of the hometown 2018 draft class that looked to send the franchise in the right direction. AT&T Stadium was the site of the festivities that year, one of the first in which the NFL allowed cities other than New York City to host. Dallas walked away with what they thought was a foundational class, with three players taken in the first three rounds, all of whom made an immediate impact on a team that would go on to make the playoffs and win a game.

No. On Friday, Williams became the third of those three players to retire this season. The strange thing is that Williams has retired in the middle of a season in which he has started every game for his club, the Seattle Seahawks.

Williams left Cowboys after the 2021 season in free agency, landed with the Miami Dolphins, who successfully moved him to center. His knee injury made him a risky proposition in free agency this offseason, but the Seahawks reaped the rewards of that 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 last October; one of several he suffered in his short career. Vander Esch officially resigned in March.

A few days earlier, the team had released Vander Esch and 2018 third round WR Michael Gallup. After suffering a torn ACL in 2021, the team waited and waited for Gallup to recover, but he never regained 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 just before reporting to training camp.

Now all three of the club’s premiership 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 Monday night for 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 game.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Former Cowboys 2nd round Olympic draft pick abruptly retires after starting all of 2024, joins unique group