For the preseason finale Saturday night against the Raiders, the playing time distribution plan will be "similar" to what the Cardinals did against the Broncos last weekend, coach Jonathan Gannon said Thursday.

In Denver, the Cardinals starters did not play save for rookie cornerback Will Johnson. There were also additional key players -- defensive lineman Dante Stills, running back Trey Benson, outside linebacker Baron Browning and tackle Kelvin Beachum among them -- who did not suit up.

That will mean the starting offense will stand with the 18 snaps it got as a unit in the preseason opener against the Chiefs, in addition to the joint practice work against the Broncos and the totality of intrasquad practice.

Gannon emphasized the game against the Raiders remains crucial for many of those players who will see the field, calling it a "big piece" of the evaluation process.

But regular-season prep isn't over for those sitting out the game, either.

"I played and coached with two guys from the same tree, and one guy would say after (Thursday's practice), 'The hay is in the barn,'" Gannon said. "The guy under him, he'd say 'I don't like that expression because the hay is never in the barn until you kick it off.' I favor that mindset, because you have 48-hour prep, you have 24-hour prep, you have a walkthrough, you have a bunch of different meetings, you have psychological prep.

"What you're doing the week before the game, two days before the game, the day before the game, 20 minutes before the game. I don't think the hay is ever in the barn until they flip the coin."