RENTON — All things being equal, Jalen Sundell might well have won the Seahawks starting center job anyway.
But all things weren’t necessarily equal when it came to Olu Oluwatimi’s chances to compete for the spot.
As training camp began, the battle between Oluwatimi and Sundell to become the starting center figured to be one of the more interesting storylines of the preseason.
But shortly into camp, Oluwatimi began dealing with a back issue that eventually forced him to sit out a few weeks. That included missing the first two preseason games against the Raiders and the Chiefs.
In each, Sundell played center for a No. 1 line and offense and that showed vast improvement running the ball compared to 2024.
By the time Oluwatimi was able to practice again in late August, the die was cast for the Seahawks’ starting line, with Sundell at center.
It was a tough blow for Oluwatimi, a third-year player out of Michigan who started the final eight games of the 2024 season.
“Yeah, I mean I wasn’t available so I wasn’t able to practice and things and show what I can do,” he said.
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Through the first eight games of the 2025 season, Oluwatimi played just 30 snaps — 21 late in the blowouts of the Saints and Commanders and nine against the Steelers when Sundell dealt with cramps.
That changed Sunday when Sundell went down with a knee injury in the second quarter of an eventual 44-22 win over Arizona.
Oluwatimi was rushed into service in the middle of a drive and finished out the game.
Now a starting spot he didn’t get a chance to really compete for because of injury is again his — for the moment, anyway— because of injury.
Coach Mike Macdonald said Monday Sundell will miss “multiple” games, and that he may go on injured reserve, which would mean sitting out at least four.
Oluwatimi isn’t happy to see Sundell get hurt. But injuries are part of the deal and now that he’s being asked to play again Oluwatimi says “it feels good (to be back in the lineup). I mean, I love playing football and I love competing so any chance I get to do that, I’m always grateful and excited.”
His return Sunday got off to a rough start with a false start on his first snap on a Tush Push play with tight end AJ Barner behind center at the Arizona 1-yard line.
On the second play of the next series, Darnold and Oluwatimi mishandled the snap resulting in a fumble and an Arizona recovery at the Seattle 3 and a quick touchdown.
“It’s challenging to hop in in the middle of a game,” Oluwatimi said. “But it’s part of the job, so you always have to be ready to do it.”
The rest of the game went smoothly, with Oluwatimi getting credit for his blocking helping to key a 12-play drive in which the moved 79 yards — all coming on running plays — for a field goal in the fourth quarter that helped put the game away.
And the hope for all involved is any rust has been shaken off.
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said that when Oluwatimi was available in the preseason that “he had a really good training camp. Olu is a really good player, and we’re really glad to have him come in and be our center. We need all the reps that we can get right now with him just to get back up to speed. I liked the way he came in the game. We did put the ball on the ground, which is unacceptable, and that’s quarterbacks and centers, so we’ve got to be better there.”
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The Seahawks also have rookie Bryce Cabeldue as a backup at center and second-year lineman Christian Haynes — who lost a training camp battle for the right guard spot — is also getting some snaps at center in practice this week.
They could activate Haynes this week and he could become the backup.
But until Sundell returns, the starting job again belongs to Oluwatimi.
He was the 154th overall pick in 2023 after winning the Outland trophy in his final college season at Michigan (he played at Virginia from 2019-21 before transferring and also spent a year at Air Force), given each year to the best interior lineman on offense or defense. He also won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s best center.
Some concerns over his size — 6-foot-2, 309 pounds — helped him fall in the draft, though ESPN’s Chris Low called Oluwatimi his biggest steal and said he would eventually become “a top tier” NFL center.
Oluwatimi backed up veteran Evan Brown as a rookie in 2023. Then, when it appeared he might get the job in 2024, the Seahawks signed veteran free agent Connor Williams. Williams started the first nine games then stunningly retired during the bye week.
That handed the job back to Oluwatimi and the Seahawks went 6-2 in his starts and are 7-2 in his career.
A new offensive line coach and scheme — one focused more on movement and an outside zone running attack — meant the job was thrown open again this year between Sundell and Oluwatimi.
It’s hard to argue the results of the offense so far, ranking third in the NFL in points scored at 30.6 per game.
What the Seahawks hope is that Oluwatimi plays well enough that they may have another battle on their hands when Sundell gets healthy.
Injury report
Sundell was one of just two Seahawks who sat out practice Thursday.
The other was rookie receiver Tory Horton (groin, shin).
Horton was listed as limited Wednesday when the Seahawks conducted a walk-through, so the downgrade on Thursday could mean he is trending to again being questionable to play against the Rams on Sunday. He missed the Arizona game.
One player who sat out against Arizona seems on the road to a return — cornerback Josh Jobe. He missed the game with a concussion but was listed as a full participant on Thursday after being limited Wednesday.
Middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who missed the game with a knee issue, was again limited.
Also limited was guard Grey Zabel (heel).
Everyone else was full, including safety Coby Bryant, who was DNP on Wednesday because of personal reasons as well as receivers Cooper Kupp, who has been dealing with hamstring and wrist issues, and Jake Bobo, who missed the last two games with a calf injury.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.