Seahawks C Olu Oluwatimi Seen As Trade Candidate

According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Oluwatimi is a trade candidate. The 2023 fifth-rounder is presently penciled in as the backup to starting pivot Jalen Sundell, though the ‘Hawks could consider dealing him to a club with a need in the middle of its line.

After earning just one start and a 13% offensive snap share as a rookie, Oluwatimi started the last eight games of the 2024 slate thanks to Connor Williams’ surprise in-season retirement. Pro Football Focus assigned him a below-average score for his pass-blocking, but his solid work in the run game mitigated that to some degree and left him with an overall grade of 64.2, which placed him 21st among 43 qualified players.

That showing was not enough to guarantee Oluwatimi a spot atop the depth chart heading into 2025, and his preseason back injury paved the way for Sundell, a 2024 UDFA, to claim the first-team center job. Sundell himself suffered a knee injury in the middle of the Seahawks’ championship season, which allowed Oluwatimi to briefly reprise his role as the starter. 

But Sundell was reinserted into the lineup upon his return to full health, relegating Oluwatimi back to the bench. In his limited action in 2025, Oluwatimi earned an abysmal 44.1 pass-blocking grade from PFF – the second-worst mark in the league – and a poor 55.9 overall score, the sixth-worst grade among qualifiers.

Clearly, the Seahawks will not be able to command much of a return for Oluwatimi if they move him, so perhaps they will simply retain him as experienced depth. Still, another team’s injury could trigger some outside interest, and the Ravens are one club that is already known to be seeking external reinforcements at center.

The Seahawks’ pursuit of a repeat will be aided by continuity along the O-line, which includes first-string work for Sundell. Echoing his report from earlier this year, Henderson says Beau Stephens will push incumbent Anthony Bradford for the starting right guard gig, but he believes Bradford will be able to fend off the fifth-round rookie.