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Cornerback Marcus Trufant will miss the first six games for the Seahawks. And veteran safety Brian Russell is gone, about to be replaced by 35-year-old Lawyer Milloy.
Those were the biggest moves the team announced Saturday while trimming its roster to 53 players for the regular season.
"It's official ....I'm a Seahawk! Let's go!!!!" Milloy posted on his Twitter page.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday evening that the former Washington Husky will be a Seahawk, pending completion of the contract. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official.
Milloy started the last three seasons for Atlanta, which released him in February. He worked out for the Detroit Lions this week. The 13-year veteran grew up in Tacoma, Wash., and played college ball at Washington.
Trufant, a Pro Bowl selection in 2007, has not practiced since before training camp because of a disc issue in his back. He begins the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list. He is not eligible to play until at least Nov. 1 at Dallas, after Seattle's bye.
Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones is on the active roster even though he recently had his second knee surgery in eight months. That indicates the Seahawks think the 35-year-old can return soon, and is not out for the season as has been rumored.
Seattle also decided its kicker will again be veteran Olindo Mare when it waived 2008 draft pick Brandon Coutu.
The 36-year-old Mare made 89 percent of his field goals and boomed kickoffs deep for valued touchbacks last season, yet Seattle kept Coutu on the roster all last season as a rare backup kicker. Coutu had worked in Atlanta this summer on kickoffs and mental preparation with Morten Anderson, the league's all-time scoring leader who retired from the Falcons last spring. Yet Coutu's kickoffs were still shorter than Mare's in the preseason.
"He's just going to be a Cracker Jack kicker in this league, in my opinion," Seahawks special teams coach Bruce DeHaven said of Coutu during training camp. "I think Brandon is more than ready to kick in the league. He's has the disadvantage right now of going against a guy that is really good, too."
At the start of training camp, Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said Russell was fighting for his job at free safety. Saturday, he lost.
The 31-year-old Russell joined Seattle as a free agent from Cleveland before the 2007 season. He and fellow newcomer Deon Grant fixed a problem of allowing big plays that year, but Russell and Grant were beaten repeatedly last season when Seattle had the league's worst-rated pass defense.
The Seahawks also released wide receiver Courtney Taylor, who started four games last season when the position was decimated by injuries. That means Ben Obomanu has won the final wide receiver spot.
Another Courtney, safety Greene, was the only rookie draft choice released.
Seattle terminated the contract of veteran backup linebacker D.D. Lewis, who became expendable when Leroy Hill re-signed and the team drafted Aaron Curry fourth overall in April.
The release of Baraka Atkins, a fourth-round pick in 2007, means undrafted free agents Derek Walker out of Illinois and Michael Bennett of Texas A&M are backups on the defensive line. Summer star Nick Reed, a rookie seventh-round pick out of Oregon, is another backup defensive end.
The Seahawks kept six defensive ends, one more than usual. That includes the veteran starters: 32-year-old Patrick Kerney and 28-year-old Cory Redding.
Also released: safety Jamar Adams, guard Brian De La Puente, cornerback Marquis Floyd, tackle Na'Shan Goddard, wide receiver Mike Hass, cornerback Kevin Hobbs, fullback David Kirtman, rookie running back Devin Moore, cornerback Nate Ness, tight end Joe Newton, wide receiver Logan Payne, linebacker Dave Philistin, tackle Andre Ramsey, tackle William Robinson and quarterback Jeff Rowe.
The team reached an injury settlement then waived wide receiver Jordan Kent. Kent, a former multi-sport star at Oregon and the son of Ducks basketball coach Ernie Kent, was injured in the second half of Thursday night's preseason finale.
Guard Cory Withrow, a native of Spokane and former Washington State player signed to a free-agent contract this summer, also received an injury settlement.
Those were the biggest moves the team announced Saturday while trimming its roster to 53 players for the regular season.
"It's official ....I'm a Seahawk! Let's go!!!!" Milloy posted on his Twitter page.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday evening that the former Washington Husky will be a Seahawk, pending completion of the contract. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official.
Milloy started the last three seasons for Atlanta, which released him in February. He worked out for the Detroit Lions this week. The 13-year veteran grew up in Tacoma, Wash., and played college ball at Washington.
Trufant, a Pro Bowl selection in 2007, has not practiced since before training camp because of a disc issue in his back. He begins the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list. He is not eligible to play until at least Nov. 1 at Dallas, after Seattle's bye.
Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones is on the active roster even though he recently had his second knee surgery in eight months. That indicates the Seahawks think the 35-year-old can return soon, and is not out for the season as has been rumored.
Seattle also decided its kicker will again be veteran Olindo Mare when it waived 2008 draft pick Brandon Coutu.
The 36-year-old Mare made 89 percent of his field goals and boomed kickoffs deep for valued touchbacks last season, yet Seattle kept Coutu on the roster all last season as a rare backup kicker. Coutu had worked in Atlanta this summer on kickoffs and mental preparation with Morten Anderson, the league's all-time scoring leader who retired from the Falcons last spring. Yet Coutu's kickoffs were still shorter than Mare's in the preseason.
"He's just going to be a Cracker Jack kicker in this league, in my opinion," Seahawks special teams coach Bruce DeHaven said of Coutu during training camp. "I think Brandon is more than ready to kick in the league. He's has the disadvantage right now of going against a guy that is really good, too."
At the start of training camp, Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said Russell was fighting for his job at free safety. Saturday, he lost.
The 31-year-old Russell joined Seattle as a free agent from Cleveland before the 2007 season. He and fellow newcomer Deon Grant fixed a problem of allowing big plays that year, but Russell and Grant were beaten repeatedly last season when Seattle had the league's worst-rated pass defense.
The Seahawks also released wide receiver Courtney Taylor, who started four games last season when the position was decimated by injuries. That means Ben Obomanu has won the final wide receiver spot.
Another Courtney, safety Greene, was the only rookie draft choice released.
Seattle terminated the contract of veteran backup linebacker D.D. Lewis, who became expendable when Leroy Hill re-signed and the team drafted Aaron Curry fourth overall in April.
The release of Baraka Atkins, a fourth-round pick in 2007, means undrafted free agents Derek Walker out of Illinois and Michael Bennett of Texas A&M are backups on the defensive line. Summer star Nick Reed, a rookie seventh-round pick out of Oregon, is another backup defensive end.
The Seahawks kept six defensive ends, one more than usual. That includes the veteran starters: 32-year-old Patrick Kerney and 28-year-old Cory Redding.
Also released: safety Jamar Adams, guard Brian De La Puente, cornerback Marquis Floyd, tackle Na'Shan Goddard, wide receiver Mike Hass, cornerback Kevin Hobbs, fullback David Kirtman, rookie running back Devin Moore, cornerback Nate Ness, tight end Joe Newton, wide receiver Logan Payne, linebacker Dave Philistin, tackle Andre Ramsey, tackle William Robinson and quarterback Jeff Rowe.
The team reached an injury settlement then waived wide receiver Jordan Kent. Kent, a former multi-sport star at Oregon and the son of Ducks basketball coach Ernie Kent, was injured in the second half of Thursday night's preseason finale.
Guard Cory Withrow, a native of Spokane and former Washington State player signed to a free-agent contract this summer, also received an injury settlement.
