5 Cowboys that are playing for their jobs on Saturday's preseason finale vs Chargers

The Dallas Cowboys will play their preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The Cowboys are unlikely to play many significant contributors as the regular season quickly approaches but this one will be very important for many roster bubble players fighting for a spot on the team.

Here are five players engaged in battles for roster spots that we'll be looking at closely when the game starts.

WR Ryan Flournoy

In what has been a tug of war battle for the sixth and final roster spot at wide receiver, sixth-round rookie Ryan Flournoy appears to be the front runner . Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has praised Flournoy, claiming he “proves it” every time he gets an opportunity and adding he can play special teams, which is huge for someone fighting for one of the final spots on the team.

After a strong preseason Week 2, Flournoy’s stock is soaring high . But with Jalen Cropper stepping on his toes, the rookie will have to be locked in on Saturday.

RB Deuce Vaughn

The thing about Vaughn is that at practice, a play could be blown dead as teams take care of their players. So just about every attempt appears to be dead after a few yards. On gameday though, Vaughn is able to turn routine plays into big highlights. Last week, he juked, spun, and cut his way into a whopping 6.8 yards per attempt.

The Cowboys will inevitably face tough cuts at running back but Vaughn needs to reinforce what is evident: He provides this RB room with something no one else does, as his shifty, explosive play-making style remains highly intriguing going into Year 2 of his career.

S Julius Wood

Carrying five safeties on the roster would be tough to pull off but undrafted rookie Julius Wood is making it hard on the coaches. His play in training camp and in the preseason has been notoriously good.

The big-hitting safety is fresh off of his best preseason game and another strong performance will make him a very tough cut.

DB Israel Mukuamu

The versatile Izzy Mukuamu might just be the author of a great roster comeback story. Back in the spring, Mukuamu was working almost exclusively with the reserves, and considering how deep the Cowboys are at safety, his roster odds became highly questionable.

An early injury in training camp kept him out of the preseason opener, furthering the doubts about his future. However, Mukuamu played a strong preseason game last weekend, with most of his snaps coming in the slot. With questionable candidates at cornerbacks, Izzy might force his way onto the team. Last year, he had the fifth-highest special teams snap count, which will be a relevant aspect of the coaches’ discussion.

QB Trey Lance

I admit it: I'm cheating with this one. At this point, Trey Lance isn’t fighting for a spot on the team. He’s got that secured and probably has had it locked up since Dallas traded a fourth round pick for him last year. Not to mention, he’s set to make a guaranteed $5M salary in 2024.

However, this might be Lance’s most important game of his career. It's his last shot at stealing the QB2 title from Cooper Rush, who still inspires a lot of trust of the Cowboys’ coaching staff. Additionally, it's probably his last chance at proving himself to NFL teams before hitting free agency in 2025. Millions of future career dollars could be on the line for the former third overall pick.

Can the young, athletic QB become Dak Prescott's direct backup on Saturday? It’ll likely take a preseason best performance after inconsistent results in the first couple of games.