Colts vs. Bengals: 5 Cincinnati Roster Battles to Watch in the Preseason Finale

With two days until final cuts, tonight will be the last chance for some Bengals to stake their claim to a roster spot.

While a lot of us are hoping to see a bit more of Andy Dalton playing like he did last week, the likelihood is that he will only take to the field for the first quarter, and with Cedric Benson under lock and key, it may be a bumpy ride.

With the focus very much on rookies and backups and their competition for spots, here's a rundown of tonight's main battlegrounds.

Running Backs

At this stage, we can pencil in three running backs as roster locks: Cedric Benson, Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard.

That seems to suggest that there's no space on the roster for Jay Finley, John Griffin and Cedric Peerman. But with Benson's season-long status up in the air, will the Bengals consider keeping another guy on the roster?

If so, tonight will see the three backups taking the bulk of the work and will give them all an opportunity to try to prove their worth.

Peerman looks like the early favorite, but there may not be a space for him to fill come Saturday.

Fullbacks

Unfortunately for Fui Vakapuna and his ridiculous haircut, he could be seeing his last action as a Bengal this evening.

With Chris Pressley looking red-hot against the Panthers, putting in some big hits and displaying an uncanny ability to block, he has more than shown his value to offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who could utilise Pressley in two-back sets that have been almost alien to the Bengals in the last few years.

It looks like James Develin and Fui may have reached the end of the rope.

Tight Ends

Bo Scaife is the main storyline here; with Jermaine Gresham a roster lock at starter, the severity of the injury to Scaife's shoulder will determine the fate of the other guys on the roster.

With Marvin Lewis still in the dark on Wednesday, it doesn't look good for Scaife, whose injury will allow Chase Coffman and Colin Cochart to battle for a position tonight. 

An undrafted rookie, Cochart has show a willingness and eagerness to throw blocks whilst maintaining soft hands at the same time, leading me to think he could get the nod over Coffman. But with neither inspiring a significant amount of confidence as a backup, the Bengals might well keep all four until Scaife gets healthy.

It leaves out John Nalbone, who is a shoo-in to get culled.

Safeties

The Bengals have five safeties going into tonight's game, and behind starters Chris Crocker and Reggie Nelson, it really is a dilemma.

Sense would say that the Bengals keep Taylor Mays considering they traded a seventh-round pick for him in 2012 and have yet to see him get significant playing time.

The other two names on the list are special teams standout Jeromy Miles, who possesses lightning speed, and the raw but talented Robert Sands. One of the two might get the nod if Marvin Lewis sees more value in developing the younger talent than trying to reignite Mays. 

The odd sock in this department looks to be Gibril Wilson, who didn't do much to impress against Carolina and remains an injury concern.

Cornerbacks

Experience governs the corners this year, and locks should be Leon Hall, Nate Clements, Kelly Jennings and Morgan Trent.

Adam Jones is almost certainly going on the PUP list, and if the Bengals decide to go with two quarterbacks and send Dan LeFevour to the practice squad, the extra spot could be used here.

Trying to get Brandon Ghee on the practice squad would likely see him get claimed before he got the chance, so expect him to see see a lot of game time tonight so that Lewis can really make up his mind on him.

If they decide to take another of the remaining guys available, it's a real toss-up. Jonathan Wade has experience, but Korey Lindsey has potential, while Rico Murray can play any position in the backfield and contributes significantly on special teams.

Expect to see some serious competition from these guys tonight.