The Carolina Panthers' exhibition finale against Pittsburgh tonight is the final chance for players on the bubble to make their cases.

In a few cases, the decisions are already made, but there's a bit of wiggle room left at the bottom of the roster. Here's a position-by-position look at who they could keep as they pare the roster from the current 75 to the regular-season limit of 53 by Saturday afternoon's deadline:

Quarterbacks

Keep: Matt Moore, Jimmy Clausen, Hunter Cantwell. Cut: Tony Pike.

While there's a school of thought that says there's no way to stash Pike on the practice squad without him getting claimed by another team, it's hard to look at 32 other rosters and see which one needs him on their 53. Cantwell is simply closer to being able to play in the short term, while Pike's going to take a few years to get caught up to the NFL game. With Moore on a one-year deal, you need to keep the other three around in some capacity.

The one wrinkle could be if they decide to keep just two quarterbacks, which is possible but risky, though it would allow them to keep an extra somewhere else (keep reading).

Running backs

Keep: DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Tyrell Sutton, Mike Goodson. Cut: Josh Vaughan and Dantrell Savage.

As cut-and-dried as any position on the roster. Goodson is your kickoff returner, Sutton's your Nick Goings for the next seven years, and it's probably the strongest depth chart in the league at the position.

Fullbacks

Keep: Tony Fiammetta. Cut: Rashawn Jackson.

Fiammetta's still going to need some time to learn what it took Brad Hoover nine years to learn, but he's getting there. Physically, he's up for the job.

Tight ends

Keep: Jeff King, Dante Rosario, Gary Barnidge. Cut: Jamie Petrowski.

This has been the lineup since day one, with injury the only thing changing it. Gives them a nice group of tight ends with complementary skills, but King's clearly the lead dog in this pack.

Wide receivers

Keep: Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett, Brandon LaFell, Charly Martin, Armanti Edwards. Cut: Kenny Moore, David Gettis, Trent Guy.

Some painful decisions here, but Wallace Wright's season-ending shoulder injury opened the door for Martin to make it. He's a mystery man to fans, but he's made an impact here, and is eager to take on Wright's kicking-game work. He's also a steady pass-catcher who's probably more of an offensive threat than Wright would have been.

As hard as it is to cut Kenny Moore, it's hard to justify keeping him since there's not really a role he fills that someone else on the roster can't do as well or better. He's a high-floor, low-ceiling player who should catch on somewhere else.

Gettis and Guy might be on the 53 someday, but they're just not ready yet. They have practice squad written all over them, and given their preseasons thus far, it's hard to see the danger in exposing them to waivers.

Offensive linemen

Keep: Jordan Gross, Travelle Wharton, Ryan Kalil, Mackenzy Bernadeau, Jeff Otah, Garry Williams, Duke Robinson, Geoff Schwartz, C.J. Davis. Cut: Rob Petitti, Tim Duckworth, Andrew Crummey and Ray Hisatake.

Petitti might hang around in the short-term to provide cover for Otah, but their mammoth right tackle should be back soon and make him expendable. They would have liked Robinson to win the right guard job so they could use Bernadeau and Schwartz as the Hangartner-Bridges super-subs, but he failed to do that. The year Davis spent riding a stationary bike on IR paid off, as he's a tough, squatty interior blocker who can serve as a backup center as long as Bernadeau's in the starting lineup.

Defensive ends

Keep: Tyler Brayton, Charles Johnson, Everette Brown and Greg Hardy. Cut: Eric Moore.

The third Moore on the preseason roster had a great camp, but he's 29 years old and you've already seen the best of him. He'd be a luxury item to hang onto, and they can't afford it, barring an injury to one of the first four. Speaking of those four, it's easy to see that being the group for the next two or three years, as they're all ascending, even Brayton.

Defensive tackles

Keep: Ed Johnson, Derek Landri, Louis Leonard, Tank Tyler. Cut: Corvey Irvin, Nick Hayden and Andre Neblett.

You hate to punt a recent third-round pick such as Irvin, but he's simply been out-performed by Landri, who they wisely claimed off waivers last December. In fact, the undersized effort-guy probably had the most consistent camp of the lot of them, even though he's not as physically menacing as the other three. Neblett's a guy they're eye-balling for practice squad purposes, quietly having a solid camp.

Linebackers

Keep: Jon Beason, Dan Connor, James Anderson, Jamar Williams, Jordan Senn, Eric Norwood, Nic Harris. Cut: Quinton Culberson, Mortty Ivy and Sean Ware.

Harris gives them a younger, cheaper, faster version of Culberson. He's a converted safety who has upside, and the reality is if you still need Culberson he'll probably be available in two weeks. Williams has impressed when he's been on the field and gives them a dependable fourth linebacker to plug in any of the three starting spots in case of an injury. That allows you to keep special teams demon Senn and Harris, while grooming Norwood. The rookie from South Carolina had a brilliant first two weeks of camp, but has disappeared since and seems destined for 16 weeks of game-day inactivity while he learns to play on his feet.

Cornerbacks

Keep: Chris Gamble, Richard Marshall, Captain Munnerlyn, C.J. Wilson and Robert McClain. Cut: R.J. Stanford and Brian Witherspoon.

McClain has simply looked better than Stanford in the preseason, and since Witherspoon didn't burst in and make a return job his own, it's hard to justify his existence here based on two late picks against the Titans. A pretty good group, as coordinator Ron Meeks again proves he can make players out of late picks (Munnerlyn, Wilson and McClain are all seventh-rounders).

Safeties

Keep: Sherrod Martin, Charles Godfrey, Marcus Hudson, Aaron Francisco, Jordan Pugh. Cut: None.

Even though he didn't do much in the preseason, they brought Francisco here to be a leader on special teams. With Wright going down, his job may have become more secure. Hudson is a useful part who'll play many roles, and Pugh is a future starter.

Special teams

Keep: K John Kasay, P Jason Baker and LS J.J. Jansen. Cut: K Todd Carter.

Carter's actually performed well, it's just hard to find the spot for him. Go through the list of keeps and find one you don't need more. He'd be replacing a third quarterback, or a ninth or 10th defensive back who would be a cornerstone of the coverage teams. If it becomes an issue, Carter would be around if you need him later, but they're just going to need to tell Baker to do his best on kickoffs.