CHARLOTTE Devin Funchess Jersey 2019 , N.C. (AP)ach Ron Rivera to a two-year contract extension on Saturday. A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the extension is worth $15.5 million over two seasons. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t release financial details of the contract. Rivera has one year remaining on his existing contract, so the new deal keeps him with the Panthers through the 2020 season. Rivera is 64-47-1 in seven seasons with the Panthers. He has guided Carolina to a Super Bowl appearance, three NFC South titles and four playoff appearances. He has twice been named The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year. The Panthers (11-5) visit the New Orleans Saints (11-5) on Sunday in an NFC wild-card game. ”I’m very excited about it because I really like where we are as a football team,” Rivera said in a statement. ”We’ve done some really good things and we have an opportunity to do more. Things are in place and we can continue this success. We’ve had consistency of winning and we’ve gone to the playoffs four out of five years.” Rivera has been a rock for an organization in the midst of change. Panthers president Danny Morrison resigned last year and general manager Dave Gettleman was fired on the eve of training camp by team owner Jerry Richardson. Then Richardson came under investigation by the NFL for alleged sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace and announced he is selling the team after the season is over following an inflammatory report by Sports Illustrated. It’s unclear if the new owners will keep the team in Charlotte. On the field, the Panthers have been fairly consistent outside of a disappointing 6-10 season a year ago. Rivera oversaw an NFC-record 18-game regular-season winning streak that spanned the 2014 and 2015 seasons and led to Carolina’s Super Bowl appearance in 2015, which they lost 24-10 to the Denver Broncos. Carolina’s .576 winning percentage during Rivera’s tenure is seventh best in the NFL during that time. Rivera was brought to Carolina for his defensive expertise, and the Panthers put together four consecutive top-10 finishes in yards allowed from 2012-15, joining Seattle as the only teams to do so. Carolina is ranked seventh in defense this season. Its defense finished third in the NFL with 50 sacks during the regular season, and it is the only team in the NFL to not allow an individual 100-yard rusher in any game this season. The Panthers set a franchise record by going 20 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard individual rusher, the longest active streak in the league. Carolina’s offense has finished in the top 10 in the NFL in yards rushing per game in six of the past seven seasons, including a fourth-place mark this season at 131.4 yards per game. ”This is a tremendous place with tremendous support from ownership and the people that work in the organization,” Rivera said. ”And I really appreciate the support we’ve gotten from our fans in the Carolinas. That’s a big reason why I want to continue my association with this organization.” The Panthers have developed plenty of stars under Rivera. Carolina has produced 28 Pro Bowl and 18 All-Pro selections Stitched Greg Olsen Jersey , including four-time All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly and 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton. Rivera played nine seasons with the Chicago Bears and was a member of the 1985 Super Bowl XX winning team. — The Panthers have the No. 16 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft thanks to their 7-9 record and third place finish in the NFC South in 2018. There are a lot of holes on the roster that have to be filled, and because there probably aren’t enough draft picks available to fill them the Panthers will have to be smart with their approach to the draft. Let’s take a look at the five position groups the Panthers need to address, in no particular order.Defensive endThe Panthers have six defensive ends currently on the roster, but four of them will be free agents when the league year starts in March: Julius Peppers, Efe Obada (ERFA), Bryan Cox Jr. (ERFA) and Wes Horton. The two remaining are Marquis Haynes and Mario Addison. That’s not a sufficient group of pass rushers for any team, so the Panthers will definitely have to address this need somehow. Fortunately, there are some really good defensive ends in this year’s draft class. Will any of the good ones be available by the time the No. 16 pick rolls around? We can only hope.Offensive tackleJust like defensive end, the Panthers have six players listed at offensive tackle on their current roster, but again, three of them are set to hit free agency in March: Daryl Williams, Chris Clark and Marshall Newhouse. The only ones left are Taylor Moton, Matt Kalil and Isaiah Battle. Moton is solid Youth Kawann Short Jersey , but Kalil’s health is a question (but he hopes to ‘give it another go’ in 2019) and Battle has never played a regular season NFL snap in the four years he’s bounced around various practice squads across the league.To put it lightly, the Panthers’ offensive tackle situation is dire. The Panthers may not be able to afford to re-sign Williams (unless his season-ending injury substantially drives down his market value) and we saw what a left tackle rotation of Chris Clark and Marshall Newhouse can do to a franchise quarterback’s long-term health. I don’t know if the Panthers can fix this problem with a first round draft pick because I don’t know if a cornerstone left tackle will fall to No. 16 overall. This might be a position that has to be addressed in free agency, but if a quality left tackle miraculously falls into the Panthers’ lap during the draft, it should take Marty Hurney approximately 2.7 seconds to hand his card in at the podium.SafetyThe Panthers have eight players listed at safety on their roster right now. There are two problems with that number, though. Four of them are scheduled to hit free agency: Mike Adams, Eric Reid, Colin Jones and Damian Parms (ERFA). Of the four safeties left, two of them are not free safeties (Da’Norris Searcy, Rashaan Gaulden) and two of them are virtually unknown quantities (Kai Nacua, Cole Luke). The Panthers could address this problem in the draft. Dan Kadar of Mocking the Draft has the Panthers doing that with their No. 16 overall pick by taking Deionte Thompson from Alabama. Depending on how the draft board looks that might not be the biggest mistake the Panthers could make in the draft, but it might be better to try and find a free safety in free agency instead. (Note: There aren’t a lot of options here, to be honest. It’s a matter of ‘Would you rather have mediocrity at safety or mediocrity at defensive end/offensive tackle?’ and that’s really not a difficult question to answer.)Running backBefore you get mad, hear me out. The Panthers rely on Christian McCaffrey more than they should. Yes Stitched Kawann Short Jersey , he’s awesome, but you shouldn’t dedicate 95% of your snaps to one player (other than the quarterback because you kinda have to do that). The Panthers need at least one running back to pair with McCaffrey. They fixed this problem last offseason by signing C.J. Anderson to a one-year ‘prove it’ deal, but then decided they didn’t need his services any longer and let him go. As of today, there are six running backs on the roster other than McCaffrey: Kenjon Barner, Cameron Artis-Payne, Fozzy Whittaker, Reggie Bonnafon, Travaris Cadet and Elijah Hood. Of those six, five of them are set to hit free agency. Bonnafon is the only one left. (Hood is an ERFA so he could return.) I’m not sure the Panthers will allocate cap space to bring any of those five guys back when they could throw a fourth or fifth round pick at a running back and get the same amount of production, but somehow they need to find someone to spell McCaffrey. Of course, they could always just roll with Bonnafon and Hood if they wanted to save their draft picks for other needs, but I don’t know if that’s the best idea.QuarterbackAgain, let me explain before you bring out the pitchforks. Cam Newton is the franchise quarterback and that’s not changing any time soon. But Youth Trai Turner Jersey , let’s be honest: His shoulder isn’t right. He hasn’t been the same since T.J. Watt speared him in Week 10. The Panthers must have a backup plan in case Newton’s shoulder isn’t ready for 2019. They went with a rotation of Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen and Garrett Gilbert over the last two weeks of the season, but that’s not going to be good enough for the long term. Allen is currently the only backup quarterback who is a) healthy, and b) on the roster. The Panthers should look for value picks in the draft to find a backup quarterback, or they should sign a quality veteran to run the offense in case Cam isn’t ready to go. I’m sure this will go over like a fart in a spacesuit, but there’s a certain quarterback out there right now who would be a perfect short-term replacement for Cam, but whether or not the Panthers would be willing to make that move is up in the air.If you’re still reading this, congrats. You have dedication! Now that you’ve come this far, do me one more favor—tell me which need you think is the most important, and how the Panthers should address that need. Should they use the No. 16 overall pick to fill the need, or should they sign a free agent? Who should they draft and/or sign? I want to know that you think.