ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The switch came in the spring. Alex Carter looked at the Detroit Lions' roster. The Lions' coaching staff looked at Carter. And both agreed that the best possible chance he had to make Detroit’s team this season was not at cornerback, where he had been playing, but at safety.

This necessitated making a shift in the third year of his career, a year where he was already no lock to make the roster after the former third-round pick was cut last year and spent most of 2016 on the practice squad.

So this was about self-preservation and redirecting the arc of his career. This week he’ll find out the early returns of that move. One thing he doesn’t do, though, is look back and wonder what if he had made the switch sooner.

He played corner at Stanford. He struggled with injuries once he reached the NFL. And regret? There’s none, because defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said, “You want to find out if you have a corner first in this league.” It made even more sense with Carter, who had good size at 6-feet to play corner and reshaped his body to be stronger and a better tackler.

That might fit him better now at safety.

“I don’t always look back and say, ‘Maybe I should have been a safety earlier,'" Carter said. “Some people have made the comment that I have the body type for a safety but I enjoy playing corner. I could still play corner right now. I just consider myself as a defensive back now. I can go play safety. I can go play the nickel. I can play the corner.

“So for me, let me learn every position out there and be fluid and try to do it all.”

That’s what has been happening throughout training camp. Occasionally, he’s received looks with the first-team defense in substitution packages but for the most part has worked with the second and third teams.

And he’s in a tough spot because he’s fighting for a job at a new position against players who have played there for years. That won’t make the Lions judge him differently this week when they finalize roster and practice-squad decisions.

“I think we view it the same as all guys," Austin said. "You look and see, does he have the ability to make plays? Can he adapt? Can he tackle in space? Can he track the ball? Can he do all those things and then you make a determination on do you think he’s going to continue to get better.

“That’ll be our evaluation on him. I’m not, I won’t judge him any differently than I do a Charles Washington or a Rolan Milligan, Miles Killebrew. I won’t judge him any differently. If he’s in that position, he’s got to be able to handle the things that we’re going to throw at him.”

To help with the move, he’s stayed close to safety Glover Quin, who made the conversion from corner to safety early in his career and turned into a Pro Bowler with the Lions. Besides his locker being close by so he could ask questions whenever he’d like, he’s tried to pay as much attention as possible to what Quin has done.

He’s often asking questions about communication and what he should be looking for on plays. Most young safeties do this, but Quin can understand Carter’s transition better because he’s done it.

“A lot of it is communication stuff," Carter said. "Like, what are we saying here? Who are we talking to when we communicate this? Who are we trying to protect here, because you have the defense and you have the coverage but then there’s the coverage within the coverage and you’re always trying to help somebody or do something or show a certain look. And he knows the intricacies of that.”

There’s been some progress. In three preseason games, he’s recorded five tackles and had a chance at an interception against the Colts. It’s mostly been little plays. The question is whether or not it has been enough to show the coaches and front office he’s growing and worthy of a roster or practice-squad spot.

With only one or two spots up for grabs, that’s tough to say. And Carter recognizes his position. He knows this transition could affect whether he’s still employed a week from now.

“It could. It does,” Carter said. “But I mean, it’s not my job to worry. It’s just my job to do my job and perform and get it and whatever happens ultimately happens.

“I’ll be OK. I’ll find a way to make it.”

The question is whether or not that ends up being in Detroit.