NFL Players with the Most on the Line in the Final Preseason Game

Nearly 500 players were cut when the 32 NFL teams trimmed their rosters to 75 players on Tuesday. 

Another 700 will be sent packing on Saturday, when all rosters need to be down to the final 53-man count to start the 2015 season. 

While the first 500 players won't get a chance to play in the fourth and final preseason game, the other 700 will—giving Thursday's games extra meaning in terms of winning positional battles and keeping the NFL dream alive. 

On the following slides, we will look at the players with the most to lose during the final preseason games of 2015. Securing a roster spot will be the goal for these big-name players Thursday night. 

Honorable Mentions

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A.J. Jenkins, WR, Dallas Cowboys: The former first-round pick might be looking for his fourth NFL team if he doesn't give the Cowboys a reason to keep him Thursday night. 

Vick Ballard, RB, Indianapolis Colts: He's attempting a comeback after missing all but one game over the past two seasons (ACL, Achilles) and can't afford to blow his last chance Thursday. 

Aaron Dobson, WR, New England Patriots: The Pats are banged up at receiver. Dobson still needs to earn a roster spot in the finale.

Terrelle Pryor, WR, Cleveland Browns

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Browns head coach Mike Pettine isn't hyping up the preseason finale for quarterback-turned-receiver Terrelle Pryor. Still, he knows his transitioning pass-catcher needs time on the field. 

"I don't want to say make or break,'' Pettine said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I'm not going to deal with an absolute, saying he has to play, but we want to see him out there."

The Browns haven't seen Pryor in a live-game setting all summer. A pulled hamstring has kept him on the sidelines since early in camp, robbing the receiver of valuable practice and game reps at a new position. 

Pryor could still realistically win a roster spot without a preseason appearance, given his upside and undeniable athletic ability at a position where the Browns lack both. But it's going to be tough to sign off on the Pryor experiment leaking into the regular season without getting some sense of what he can do against a team wearing different colors. Pryor's last chance at a preseason debut comes Thursday night against the Chicago Bears. 

Andy Levitre, G, Tennessee Titans

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The Titans paid Andy Levitre almost $50 million to come to Tennessee back in the winter of 2013, thinking the former Buffalo guard was ascending into one of the game's more dominant interior blockers. 

Fast-forward about 18 months, and Levitre may not even make it to his third regular season with the Titans. 

The 29-year-old Levitre is now running with the second-team offense, having lost his starting left guard position to Byron Bell—a former left tackle.

Jim Wyatt of the team's official site struggles to envision the Titans keeping Levitre as the league's most expensive backup. 

"I’ll say this—if Levitre’s not a starter, I can’t see a scenario where he’s on the team at his current salary," Wyatt wrote. "He’s being paid as a starter, not a backup. We’ll have an answer here in the very near future."

The Titans play the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday. Unless Levitre is dominant with the second team, he could be looking for work by the weekend.

Montee Ball, RB, Denver Broncos

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The Broncos thought they had drafted the team's next feature back when selecting Montee Ball in the second round of the 2013 draft. 

He's now dropping like a rock on Denver's depth chart, and his spot on the 53-man roster can't be considered a lock.

Ball was the fourth back to see action during the Broncos' third preseason game, behind starter C.J. Anderson and backups Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson. He carried the ball four times for 11 yards.

"I was really surprised by that. I barely got any touches," Ball said, via Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post. "I guess that's the way they wanted to do it."

It's possible the Broncos are preparing for life without Ball. And to think Denver could have taken Eddie Lacy with that pick back in 2013. The draft is such an unforgiving process. 

Tim Tebow, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

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You didn't think you'd get out of here without hearing about Tim Tebow, did you?

The world's most famous fourth-string quarterback, Tebow remains a gadget player for head coach Chip Kelly. The Eagles appear prepared to use the former Heisman Trophy winner as a weapon on short-yardage plays, including two-point conversions. 

The plan isn't exactly working to perfection. Tebow was 0-of-2 converting the two-point try last Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers. He was stuffed on an inside run on the first, and his second attempt nearly resulted in an interception. The Eagles didn't try another conversion the rest of the game. 

Tebow is a talented runner, but he might be the worst pure passer in the NFL right now. He won't suddenly morph into Joe Montana during Philadelphia's preseason finale, but Kelly and the Eagles need to see more from him—especially in the situations he'd potentially be used in the regular season—if Tebow is going to make the final 53-man roster.