What many Seattle Seahawks fans might know about Olu Oluwatimi is that he is a very smart human being. One doesn't excel at academics at both Virginia and then Michigan without being so. High-end intelligence can also help an offensive lineman overcome some weaknesses athletically.
Oluwatimi, though, has had an interesting career. He has gotten 13 starts in three seasons in the NFL, and he's not been awful when he has played. He just appears to be a tick behind other players he has battled for the center spot with. Jalen Sundell is the starter there for Seattle now, but mostly because he offers a bit better ahtleticism that Oluwatimi.
Sundell is probably also helped by being a college teammate of 2025 first-round pick left guard Grey Zabel. Cohesion matters more along the offensive line than anywhere else in football, and if that means transitioning teammates from college to the pros, then so be it.
Seattle Seahawks might be looking at releasing Olu Oluwatimi before Week 1
Sundell isn't the best center in football, but he isn't bad. His understanding of what Zabel needs to excel and vice versa is a boon to the line overall. Oluwatimi is partly held back by not having previously worked with Zabel, an ascending guard in the league who could be a Pro Bowler eventually.
Some national pundits have suggested Oluwatimi could be a trade candidate, and that may be so. The issue is that a team is unlikely to give the Seattle Seahawks much trade value in return for the backup center. He doesn't play a spot that would elicit a Day 2 response. Instead, a seventh-round choice might be the best general manager John Schneider can do.
More likely, Seattle would make Oluwatimi a part of roster cuts ahead of Week 1. The wise Brian Nemhauser of Hawk Blogger, for instance, suggested that the Seahawks may only keep nine offensive linemen, but that list wouldn't include Oluwatimi. The assumption is that Sundell would start and his backup would be a player who hasn't gotten many reps at center before.
Maybe the team hopes that if they do waive Olu Oluwatimi, he won't be claimed and can be re-signed to the practice squad. That would be a precipitous fall for a player who has started in the league, been bandied about as a possible trade target, and then wouldn't have a spot on anyone's final roster.
To be sure, he probably could be solid in a pinch. He hasn't allowed a sack in 486 pass-block snaps in his three seasons, though he did allow eight pressures in 156 pass-block reps in 2025. He's a better un-blocker than pass protector, but he isn't terrible at either. He should get more starts in the future, but that might not be with Seattle.
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