IRVING – For some, tonight's preseason finale between the Cowboys and Vikings is just another boring affair that will have little or no impact on the regular season.

For others, such as Cowboys wide receiver Danny Amendola, it means everything.

On Saturday, the Cowboys will trim their active roster from 75 players to 53. Several players fighting for only a few roster spots will be under pressure to produce against the Vikings.

"There sure is pressure," said Amendola, an undrafted rookie from Texas Tech. "That's how it is. They will keep the best guy. It's a distraction if you keep thinking about it."

When coach Wade Phillips addressed the team this week, he spoke directly to some of those bubble players about proving themselves one final time.

"This game, we got specific with these guys on kind of what to look for," Phillips said.

Richard Bartel, the team's No. 3 quarterback, will start against Minnesota.

Last year, Bartel was released but then quickly picked up for the Cowboys' practice squad. This year, he's more relaxed but knows there's still a lot at stake.

"There are so many factors that come into the end of this," he said. "I have more peace with things this year than I did last year. So many things are out of your control."

Injuries to players such as Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanback have forced the team to retool the wide receiver position.

As it stands now, the Cowboys have three wide receivers with NFL experience in Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd.

Austin, sidelined for about a month with a knee injury, will make the 53-man roster and probably be inactive until he's healthy.

Stanback was in a good position to return kicks with Austin until he injured his shoulder last week. Stanback is doubtful for the regular-season opener at Cleveland on Sept. 7.

The Cowboys plan to have four wide receivers active for the Cleveland game. So, with Austin out for the opener and Stanback unlikely to play in it, Mike Jefferson and Amendola are probably battling for one spot.

"I'm just going out there and trying to do my best," Amendola said. "I'm not going to put added pressure on myself. You run things through your mind on what you need to do, but at the same time you don't want to think about it."

Cornerbacks Alan Ball and Evan Oglesby are almost in a dead heat for the No. 6 cornerback position.

Ball was praised in the early stages of training camp by Phillips. But Oglesby, who led the team in training camp interceptions, then moved ahead of Ball on the depth chart.

Yet, Oglesby's spot is not secure.

"I think Oglesby had a real good camp," Phillips said. "He's not played as well in the last couple of games. I didn't say he played bad. I just said he hasn't played as well in the last couple of games. It's only spot playing. He'll get a lot more time in this game, and we'll see how he is."

At some point on Saturday, some players will be told that they can continue living the dream of being an NFL player.

"I'll tell you after next week," Amendola said with a smile.