Richard Bartel is expected to play the entire preseason finale for two reasons: 1) No sense in risking an injury to Tony Romo or Brad Johnson; 2) the Cowboys want a long look at Bartel before determining whether his time at Valley Ranch is done.

Even if Bartel has a spectacular performance, it'd be tough to see a scenario where the Cowboys keep him on the 53-man roster. He has a strong arm, but he simply hasn't shown enough progress to merit a roster spot, especially with the Cowboys needing to carry several injured players on the 53 to start the season.

The Grapevine product, who was out of the Cowboys' plans after final cuts last season until Carolina picked up Matt Moore off waivers, is probably playing to stick on the practice squad for the second consecutive season. He's the only in-house candidate to be scout-team QB, but he's competing against every other QB around the league who will be cut this week.