Hawks fine-tune roster

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks reduced to 53 players Saturday, but don’t call this a final roster. Team president Tim Ruskell is never idle for long.

Instead of waiting for fullback Leonard Weaver to recover from an ankle injury, Ruskell placed him on injured reserve, ending his season. The move led Seattle to acquire fullback Josh Parry from Philadelphia for a conditional draft choice in 2008.

Defensive end Kemp Rasmussen (knee) and safety Mike Green (foot) joined Weaver on injured reserve.

The Seahawks kept the usual allotment of tight ends (three) even though starter Jerramy Stevens is out and backup Itula Mili has been slowed by a sprained knee. Will Heller is the only healthy player at the position, at least for now.

Seattle also kept receiver Maurice Mann at the expense of Peter Warrick, making cornerback Jimmy Williams the favorite to return punts until further notice.

The current configuration features 24 players on offense, 25 on defense and four on special teams.

Teams had until Saturday afternoon to meet the NFL’s 53-man limit. Seattle waived 18 players, released two veterans and placed three on IR.

A closer look at the roster:

Quarterbacks (3)

Keepers: Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace, David Greene.

First cut: Gibran Hamdan.

Second cut: Travis Lulay.

Comment: Lulay is a practice-squad candidate.

Running backs (5)

Keepers: Shaun Alexander, Maurice Morris, FB Mack Strong, FB Josh Parry, Josh Scobey.

Injured reserve: FB Leonard Weaver (ankle).

First cut: Ran Carthon.

Second cut: Jimmy Dixon, FB David Kirtman, Marquis Weeks.

Comment: Kirtman, Weeks might be practice-squad material.

Wide receivers (5)

Keepers: Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson, D.J. Hackett, Maurice Mann.

First cut: Keenan Howry, Tony Brown, Taco Wallace.

Second cut: Peter Warrick, Ben Obomanu, C.J. Jones, Justin Surrency.

Comment: Obomanu a prime practice-squad candidate.

Tight ends (3)

Keepers: Jerramy Stevens, Itula Mili, Will Heller.

First cut: Keith Willis.

Second cut: Leonard Stephens, Matt Murphy.

Offensive linemen (9)

Keepers: Walter Jones, Floyd Womack, Robbie Tobeck, Chris Gray, Sean Locklear, Chris Spencer, Ray Willis, Tom Ashworth, Rob Sims.

First cut: Taylor Schmidt, Jeff Bolton.

Second cut: William Henry, Pat Ross, Jason Murphy.

Comment: Ross, Murphy might be practice-squad candidates.

Defensive linemen (10)

Keepers: Grant Wistrom, Marcus Tubbs, Chuck Darby, Bryce Fisher, Craig Terrill, Rocky Bernard, Darryl Tapp, Russell Davis, Joe Tafoya, Chris Cooper.

Injured reserve: Kemp Rasmussen (knee).

First cut: Alex Guerrero.

Second cut: Robert Pollard, John Syptak.

Linebackers (7)

Keepers: Lofa Tatupu, Leroy Hill, Julian Peterson, D.D. Lewis, Niko Koutouvides, Kevin Bentley, Isaiah Kacyvenski.

First cut: Evan Benjamin.

Second cut: Cornelius Wortham, Lance Laury.

Cornerbacks (4)

Keepers: Marcus Trufant, Kelly Herndon, Kelly Jennings, Jimmy Williams.

First cut: Reggie Austin, Lance Frazier.

Second cut: Gerard Ross, Kevin Hobbs.

Safeties (4)

Keepers: Michael Boulware, Ken Hamlin, Jordan Babineaux, Oliver Celestin.

Injured reserve: Mike Green.

First cut: Shaunard Harts, Brandon Haw.

Second cut: Etric Pruitt.

Specialists (3)

Keepers: K Josh Brown, LS J.P. Darche, P Ryan Plackemeier.

First cut: P Gabe Lindstrom.