ALAMEDA – When Drew Carter went down with a season-ending knee injury that created an opportunity for one of the Oakland Raiders' unproven receivers to make the roster.

The final exhibition game Friday night in Seattle is the last chance for those players to impress coach Lane Kiffin enough to stick with the team after the roster is reduced to 53 players on Saturday.

Despite those hefty stakes, the players involved don't want to put too much pressure on themselves leading up to the game against the Seahawks.

“I can't do that because then you'll freeze up,” receiver Todd Watkins said. “You have to play relaxed. You have to go out there and know the game plan and play within yourself. That's what coach always says, play within yourself. If you go out there and try to do a million things, bad things can happen.”

Watkins, rookies Arman Shields and Chaz Schilens, Jonathan Holland and Chris McFoy are in the running for the final two receiver spots.

Javon Walker and Ronald Curry are the only proven receivers on the roster and are entrenched as starters. Second-year player Johnnie Lee Higgins also has a spot on the roster assured because he is also the kick and punt returner.

The other five players are fighting for two spots. But that number could be reduced if the Raiders sign a receiver who gets cut by another team this weekend.

“There's a lot of guys in the mix,” Kiffin said. “You have to figure which guys are going to make it, does someone else come in from the outside to make it and then, also, which guys will be on the practice squad. So, those guys will get a lot of opportunities in this game.”

Walker and Curry won't even play against the Seahawks as Kiffin is resting all of his starters to avoid any more injuries after losing Carter and fullback Oren O'Neal last week.

That will give plenty of chances to those other players.

“It's a great opportunity to get the get the feel of the game,” Watkins said. “In college was the last time I really got to play the whole game. I'll be in there most of the time. You can get in the zone and the flow of things. It's totally different than going in for the third or fourth quarter.”

Watkins spent his first two years in the NFL on the practice squads in Arizona and Atlanta, but has been the most impressive of the group since signing with the Raiders this offseason.

He has excelled in practice and also has five catches for 66 yards in the first three preseason games.

“You don't want to get complacent,” Watkins said. “I've been thinking to myself, 'It's not over. I've had a good camp, yeah, but it's not over.' I need to go out there and practice hard this week to get myself ready for this game mentally and physically.”

The only other receiver fighting for a roster spot with any catches this preseason is Schilens, who has three for 45 yards. Schilens was a seventh-round pick out of San Diego State.

Shields was picked ahead of Schilens, going in the fourth round. But he has been slowed by a knee injury for most of camp before finally returning to practice this week.

“I feel comfortable because while I was out our coach put a big emphasis on getting mental reps,” Shields said. “I made sure I was there mentally and I tried to run the plays through in my mind so I felt fine.”

McFoy is the only one of the group to play in an NFL game, making one catch in three games last season for the Raiders.

Holland, a seventh-round pick in 2007, missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury.