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Latest 53-man roster projection: If Cowboys keep three QBs, they'll have to go thin at another position ...

The Cowboys' current 75-man roster must be trimmed to 53 on Saturday. The Cowboys head into tonight's preseason finale with some spots up for grabs.

Although some questions still need to be answered, we're not going to wait.

Here's a projection on what Dallas' roster will look like to open the 2016 season.

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Quarterbacks: Do you keep two or three? If Tony Romo is moved to injured reserve/designated for return, the Cowboys will likely go with only two quarterbacks. If he remains on the roster, they'll need three. Here is how I expect them to open the season.

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Or with:

1.) Tony Romo

2.) Dak Prescott

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3.) Veteran player not currently on the roster.

Running backs: Carrying three quarterbacks means the Cowboys have to go thin at another position. I think that comes down to fullback or offensive line. Jason Garrett prefers having a fullback on the roster, so I'm keeping one. Darren McFadden (elbow) is not included because he'll likely open the season on the team's non-football injury list.

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4.) Ezekiel Elliott

5.) Alfred Morris

6.) Lance Dunbar

7.) Darius Jackson

8.) Keith Smith

Wide receivers: This is the five I've been going with since April. Nothing has made me change my mind since.

9.) Dez Bryant

10.) Terrance Williams

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11.) Cole Beasley

12.) Brice Butler

13.) Lucky Whitehead

Tight ends: With James Hanna (knee) starting the season on the physically unable to perform list, a fourth tight end is probably needed. I'm going with Austin Traylor. The undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin is clearly more prepared to contribute immediately than sixth-round pick Rico Gathers. Look for Gathers to end up on the practice squad.

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14.) Jason Witten

15.) Gavin Escobar

16.) Geoff Swaim

17.) Austin Traylor

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Offensive line: The first eight spots continue to be locked in for me. In my last projection, I had the Cowboys going with nine offensive linemen. But with Romo now taking up a spot, I'm going with only eight. The key piece is Chaz Green. In this scenario, he'll be the team's swing tackle. He's been inconsistent, so adding a veteran OT is a possibility. The worst-case scenario for the Cowboys would be Tyron Smith or Doug Free suffering a significant injury. If that happened and they weren't confident Green could handle the starting job, adding a veteran player could be an option or they could move Zack Martin or La'el Collins to a tackle spot and put Ron Leary back in the starting lineup.

18.) Tyron Smith

19.) Zack Martin

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20.) Travis Frederick

21.) La'el Collins

22.) Doug Free

23.) Ron Leary

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24.) Chaz Green

25.) Joe Looney

Special teams: This never changes.

26.) Dan Bailey

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27.) Chris Jones

28.) L.P. Ladouceur

Defensive line: With DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory suspended to start the season, Ryan Russell makes the cut. With Jack Crawford's versatility, four tackles and five ends seem like a safe bet.

29.) Tyrone Crawford

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30.) Jack Crawford

31.) Benson Mayowa

32.) Terrell McClain

33.) Cedric Thornton

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34.) David Irving

35.) Charles Tapper

36.) Maliek Collins

37.) Ryan Russell

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Linebackers: Not a lot of surprises here. With Rolando McClain's NFL future in question and Jaylon Smith (knee) unlikely to play in 2016, these are the seven Matt Eberflus will be coaching to open the season.

38.) Sean Lee

39.) Anthony Hitchens

40.) Kyle Wilber

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41.) Justin Durant

42.) Damien Wilson

43.) Mark Nzeocha

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44.) Andrew Gachkar

Defensive backs: Every roster projection I've done has the Cowboys keeping five corners and four safeties, so I'll stick with that. The final spot still comes down to sixth-round pick Kavon Frazier and 2013 third-round pick J.J. Wilcox.

45.) Brandon Carr

46.) Morris Claiborne

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47.) Orlando Scandrick

48.) Deji Olatoye

49.) Anthony Brown

50.) Byron Jones

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51.) Barry Church

52.) Jeff Heath

53.) Kavon Frazier

Twitter: @jonmachota

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