If it’s Monday, it must be time for another edition of roster reset. This is the third shot at predicting who will make the Patriots’ 53-man roster. (Check out the first two here and here.) With three preseason games in the books, there’s a pretty good idea as to who will make up the first 45 or so spots on the roster. However, there are about a dozen players who could make a legitimate argument for one of the final eight spots on the roster, which will make this week’s preseason finale against the Giants Thursday night at Gillette Stadium all the more interesting.

Quarterback (3): Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett.

Nothing to see here — the easiest spot on the roster to predict.

Offensive line (9): Matt Light, Nate Solder, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Sebastian Vollmer, Ryan Wendell, Dan Connolly, Steve Maneri, Rich Ohrnberger.

Some good positional versatility here with the interior linemen, but Maneri sneaks on to the roster as the fourth tackle. Meanwhile, the health of Connolly (who injured his ankle in Saturday’s loss to the Lions) and Wendell (who hasn’t practiced since July 31) could shake things up a bit. The possibility remains that Solder could see some time at right guard if Connolly is going to be out for an extended stretch. (The rookie has seen some time there in practice.) Fifth-round pick Marcus Cannon will likely open the season on the reserve/NFI list.

Tight end (3): Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Will Yeatman.

No change from last week. However, it’ll big week for Yeatman, fifth-round pick Lee Smith and Garrett Mills as they all make a push for that final spot. (All three have practice squad eligibility.) Still believe that Alge Crumpler will figure into the mix here sometime before the end of the season.

Running back (4): BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen.

Big cut here is Sammy Morris, who should find work immediately after being released. (If a roster spot opens with an unexpected release at another position, Morris will make it.) As has been the case all throughout camp, we expect Kevin Faulk to start the season on PUP. And while Ridley has impressed, the jury is still out on Vereen, who has yet to see the field this summer because of a nagging hamstring injury.

Wide receiver (7): Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Chad Ochocinco, Julian Edelman, Taylor Price, Matthew Slater, Brandon Tate.

Tate is hanging on by the slimmest of margins — frankly, the speedster is probably the biggest personnel question at this point in the preseason. The franchise has invested a lot in him as a kick returner and wide receiver and while he was dynamite at the start of the 2010 season, he’s struggled to be consistent in both departments. Edelman has had a solid summer, both as a returner and receiver. Price and Slater have looked good, but need a good finish to the preseason to lock down a spot.

Special teamers (3): Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko and Matt Katula.

No surprises here — Gostkowski has looked solid this summer coming off last year’s quad injury, while Mesko has been the best and most consistent special teams performer to this point of the preseason.

Defensive end (4): Jermaine Cunningham, Shaun Ellis, Andre Carter, Eric Moore.

I don’t think any other position has seen so much change on my weekly 53-man predictions. To this point, Carter has shown more than Mark Anderson, and both essentially fill the same role. Moore is showing up on film more and more (no pun intended). Even though the preseason finale is usually the exclusive domain of the backups, it would be nice for Cunningham and Ellis to get a few snaps to gauge their game readiness.

Defensive tackle (5): Vince Wilfork, Albert Haynesworth, Mike Wright, Myron Pryor, Kyle Love.

Another area where things have been shaken up a bit, as Pryor now makes the team ahead of veteran Gerard Warren (who would almost certainly find some way to make this team if a roster spot did open up). As we spelled out here, Wright is good enough where the Patriots would be willing to use a roster spot on him, depending on the severity of the injury.

Linebacker (6): Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher, Rob Ninkovich, Gary Guyton, Tracy White.

The first five guys are locked in — it’s the last one that remains a question mark, where the Patriots will likely go with a special teamer, whether it’s White or newcomers Niko Koutouvides or Ricky Brown. If they feel that Spikes and/or Fletcher aren’t ready to go (both have struggled with injury over the last couple of weeks), they could keep more than one of those guys on the bubble and drop an extra wide receiver.

Cornerback (5): Devin McCourty, Leigh Bodden, Kyle Arrington, Ras-I Dowling, Darius Butler.

Butler has rebounded after a poor start. He’s not Ty Law, but he’s shown enough to stick around, particularly as a special teamer. But as we stated in the wake of the loss to Detroit, this position is still in flux, and things could change dramatically between now and Week One. The clock is ticking on Dowling, who has really struggled with injury and needs to see the field sooner rather than later so the team knows what they have before the start of the regular season.

Safety (4): Brandon Meriweather, Patrick Chung, James Sanders, Sergio Brown.

Newcomer James Ihedigbo needs to have a big week if he wants to make the final roster — given his history and where he was on Saturday, he could still serve as a difference-maker on special teams.