Hawks trade Ruud

RENTON — The Seattle Seahawks parted ways with a veteran linebacker Monday, showing just how confident they are in a rookie linebacker.

Barrett Ruud, who was signed in April as a possible replacement for David Hawthorne, has been traded to New Orleans for an undisclosed draft pick, the Saints announced. Hawthorne signed a free-agent deal with the Saints during the offseason.

Not long after signing Ruud, the Seahawks took Bobby Wagner in the second round of April’s draft. Wagner almost immediately became Seattle’s starting linebacker, in part because Ruud was unavailable for much of the offseason while recovering from offseason surgeries.

Head coach Pete Carroll made no secret of the fact that he hoped Wagner could handle the starting job, but Ruud, who spent six seasons in Tampa Bay before signing with Tennessee in 2011, was an experienced linebacker who gave the Seahawks insurance if Wagner wasn’t ready.

Wagner started each of Seattle’s first two preseason games, and played extensively in both games. Apparently he showed enough in those two games for the Seahawks to feel comfortable parting ways with Ruud. The Saints, meanwhile, are thin at linebacker following injuries to starters Curtis Lofton and Hawthorne.

Starting middle linebacker Lofton has a high ankle sprain and weak side linebacker Hawthorne had arthroscopic knee surgery on Monday to repair his meniscus, which he apparently tore during Friday night’s preseason game against Jacksonville.

The Seahawks also waived defensive end Dexter Davis, and re-signed cornerback Donny Lisowski, who was released earlier in training camp to make room on the roster for Terrell Owens.

Davis, a seventh-round pick in 2010, showed potential as a pass rusher, but struggled to stay healthy throughout his tenure in Seattle. He missed most of last season after having hip surgery, and this year had been battling an injury to his other hip. Davis played in last weekend’s preseason game.

Lisowski, a product of Seattle’s O’Dea High School, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Montana.