When Carolina coach Ron Rivera revealed that the Panthers were planning to slide cornerback Bené Benwikere from the slot to the outside, it was February.
Two months later, the Panthers took away Josh Norman's franchise tag. A month after that, they used three consecutive picks on corners. Two weeks later, they released Brandon Boykin, who was signed seven weeks earlier to play nickel.
With so much the turnover, are they now reconsidering what to do with Benwikere?
"That we'll have to see. We'll have to definitely see," Rivera said Tuesday.
Benwikere began each of his first two seasons as the No. 1 nickel until injuries gave him a chance on the outside, the position he prefers. As a rookie, that's where he started the final four regular-season games, plus the playoffs. This past season, Benwikere slid outside in Week 11 until he broke his leg four games later against Atlanta.
Now in his final stage of rehab, Benwikere has been limited in offseason workouts. He can go through individual drills and work on the side with trainers, but he's just a spectator during team drills. That means we're not quite sure how the cornerbacks will line up when Benwikere is full-go in Spartanburg.
The Panthers have a handful of other options at nickel, but each has its own problem.
Fifth-round pick Zack Sanchez, who doesn't have much size, never played the position in college. It's hard to see him winning the role by Week 1, just like it's unlikely Colin Jones will grab ahold of it. His struggles in the slot last year forced the Panthers to sign Cortland Finnegan from his local YMCA's basketball court.
Robert McClain has experience at nickel, but the Panthers picked Finnegan in a workout that included the two last November.
Shaq Thompson can play in a package against big wideouts like Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald. But Thompson's not an option against smaller speedsters like the Saints' Brandin Cooks.
So who fills the slot is a bit of a mystery at the moment. Rivera wouldn't go so far as to say Benwikere's headed back there, but:
"To answer your question — I'm not ruling it out. That's probably the best way to put it."