Sometimes we can make too much out of words or sentences. The following story may or may not be one of those examples.

As Panthers' cornerback Bené Benwikere was walking off the field after his first practice in eight months, Carolina coach Ron Rivera was asked if the plan was to line up Benwikere at left outside corner or right. Rivera implied neither.

"We've got to find out where his home is," he said. "You look at what the young guys are doing, and how they're doing, and we've got them pretty much set at left and right."

Oh?

Those young guys who may be "pretty much set" on the outside are James Bradberry and Daryl Worley, the Panthers' second- and third-round draft picks. While Benwikere spent the first five practices of training camp on the PUP list, the two rookies took the majority of snaps with the starters. And when Benwikere returned to team drills Wednesday, it was mostly in the slot.

That certainly didn't appear to be in the cards five months ago when Rivera announced Benwikere was moving from nickel to the outside. But a lot of things have changed since then. Josh Norman didn't make a phone call in time. The Panthers stocked up on corners in the draft. Brandon Boykin was signed and cut within six weeks.

Benwikere, who played well in both spots his first two years, has been looking forward to starting the season on the outside. Nickels don't get the attention and money outside corners receive, but from a team perspective, it's a harder position to learn and play fast. And you don't have to look far in the Panthers' past to find failed experiments — see: Charles Godfrey, Colin Jones — that proved how important a solid slot guy is to Carolina's defense.

So now we're here, with Bradberry and Worley holding their own at camp and the Panthers still in need at nickel.

Fifth-round pick Zack Sanchez, who hadn't played in the slot until the Panthers put him there this spring, may not be an ideal option come Week 1. And while linebacker Shaq Thompson can slide over to cover wideouts like Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald, Thompson wouldn't match up well with someone like Denver's Emmanuel Sanders.

That leaves Benwikere as what may possibly be the most sensible solution.

With five weeks until the Panthers open up the season in Denver, there's still plenty of time — including four preseason games — for the corner situation to shake out.

"We'll work (Benwikere) and see how things unfold," Rivera said. "At the end of the day, we're going to play the best guys out there."

And perhaps we'll look back one day soon — like Thursday if Benwikere lines up on the outside with the starters — and realize "pretty much set" wasn't what it seemed.