Houshmandzadeh officially gone

T.J. Houshmandzadeh's departure was hardly a surprise after it became clear the past two days the Seahawks were looking to get rid of the receiver.

The surprise Saturday was that more veterans did not join Houshmandzadeh among Seattle's cuts as the team trimmed its roster to 53 players.

Running back Julius Jones remains on the team. So does safety Jordan Babineaux and guard Ben Hamilton, all sticking with a team that spent a good chunk of the last month pruning veterans.

Of the 20 players Seattle released or waived, Houshmandzadeh was the only one who started a game for Seattle last season. He becomes an unrestricted free agent, eligible to sign with any other team. Seattle remains on the hook to pay him the difference between his guaranteed salary of $7 million and the 2010 salary he receives from his new team, almost certain to be the veteran minimum.

Seattle has 53 players on its roster for next week's season opener against San Francisco, but don't call it the final roster. There are certain to be changes, which will include a trade for offensive lineman Stacy Andrews from the Eagles. The Seahawks are expected to give up a seventh-round pick for Andrews, but were still waiting for the league to formally approve the deal. Andrews is a 340-pound lineman who likely will play tackle upon joining Seattle.

The Seahawks also will be looking to add a quarterback after cutting third-stringer J.P. Losman. That leaves Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst as the only two quarterbacks on the team. Seattle has entered the season with just two quarterbacks only once in the previous eight seasons. That was in 2007, and the Seahawks traded for Charlie Frye after the first game that season.

Arizona released quarterback Matt Leinart, a former first-round pick. Leinart won the Heisman Trophy while playing for Carroll at USC, and while plenty of people have connected the dots to project he may join the Seahawks, that remains speculation.

The Seahawks have five safeties, which is more than normal, as they kept fifth-round pick Kam Chancellor, and Kevin Ellison while cutting Jamar Adams. The Seahawks have six linebackers, though only five count against the league limit of 53. Leroy Hill remains on the team, but he is suspended for the regular-season opener for violating the league's policy on substance-abuse. He won't count against the roster limit until he comes off his suspension.

Tackle Ray Willis started all 16 games last season, but was placed on injured reserve, thereby ending his season. Willis underwent knee surgery last month.

Defensive end Nick Reed, who made the team as a seventh-round pick last season, received an injury settlement with the team and was waived. He is recovering from knee surgery, and he could re-sign with Seattle later this season.

Of the nine players Seattle chose in last April's draft, eight made the team. The only one who did not was Jameson Konz, a tight end who was diagnosed with a hip condition the first week of training camp. Konz was placed on the Seahawks' injured reserve list after he cleared waivers.

Roster moves

Placed on reserve/injured: T Ray Willis; waived/injury settlement: DE Nick Reed; waived: S Jamar Adams, CB Marcus Brown, C Jeff Byers, G Mitch Erickson, CB Cord Parks, LB Joe Pawelek, T Jacob Phillips, DT Quinn Pitcock, RB Louis Rankin, DE Rob Rose, T Joe Toledo, TE Nick Tow-Arnett; terminated veterans: DT Amon Gordon, LB Tyjuan Hagler, WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR Brandon Jones, QB J.P. Losman, WR Ruvell Martin, DE James Wyche.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com