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CHARLOTTE Blue Greg Olsen Jersey , N.C. (AP) — n straight games and have been officially eliminated from playoff contention, the biggest question remaining is who’ll be around next season.Carolina (6-9) is expected to undergo some major changes after a season in which it started 6-2 but then appeared to grow old almost overnight.Speculation has swarmed about the future of two-time Coach of the Year Ron Rivera, who said Sunday he had no idea where an NFL Network report came from earlier in the day saying he would be back next season. He said that information hasn’t been communicated to him by owner David Tepper.“I won’t talk for the owner,” Rivera said after Carolina’s 24-10 loss to Atlanta . “You can’t ask me questions that I don’t know those answers to. I don’t know where (they) get that. I can’t talk about whether or not he has or hasn’t (decided). The big thing we all have to understand more than anything else is that it is his decision and Mr. Tepper’s been great about everything.”Tepper did not answer an interview request made through the team’s public relations department on Sunday.The roster will certainly change.Five-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil, whom running back Christian McCaffrey described as the “heart and soul of the team,” has already said he’s retiring after the season.Defensive end Julius Peppers is 38 years old and linebacker Thomas Davis is 33, and the production of both defensive leaders has fallen off this season. Peppers said after the game he wasn’t emotional at all, saying he hasn’t decided on what his future holds.“We will get into that when it’s time,” said Peppers, who has four sacks this season, the second-fewest of his 17-year career. “We still have a game left to play. I’ll save that answer for a later date.”Safety Mike Adams is 37 and his numbers dropped off as well after a strong start, and the team could be forced to make a salary-cap move with nickel back Captain Munnerlyn. At defensive tackle Kawann Short Jersey 2019 , Dontari Poe has been a flop with 17 tackles and one sack, while Kawann Short has underperformed since signing a big contract.Devin Funchess failed to take advantage of his new role as Carolina’s No. 1 receiver, and the offensive line remains unsettled. The Panthers gave left tackle Matt Kalil a $50 million contract two years ago, but missed the entire season with a knee injury.And then there is the lingering question of whether quarterback Cam Newton can return to full health after two years of struggles with a right shoulder injury. Newton has two years left on his $118 million contract and could need surgery after the season.The Panthers shut him down last week to give him an early start on rehab and look at some other options at the position.Taylor Heinicke, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound undrafted player from Old Dominion, showed some heart, but took an absolute pounding from the Falcons in his first start, leaving questions about whether he can hold up at this level. He played most of the second half with his elbow in a brace. He threw three interceptions and the Panthers managed just 10 points.Rivera said the team has holes to fill on both sides of the ball.“We will go through an evaluation process obviously, once it is all done,” Rivera said. “That will be the biggest thing obviously is we have to take a look at being able to make plays in all three phases of football. That’s the truth of it.”Peppers thinks Rivera should remain as coach. He said this year’s struggles and the players’ lack of execution shouldn’t cost Rivera his job.“He’s a players’ coach,” Peppers said. “Obviously he played the game and he understands the players and everyone loves him. He’s a great leader. He doesn’t deserve this. We could have done a better job to help him out this year by making plays.” ORLANDO Blue Kawann Short Jersey , Fla. (AP) — The NFL’s new rule outlawing a player from lowering his head to initially make any sort of hit with his helmet likely will be included in replay reviews for officials.That has not been decided yet, but Commissioner Roger Goodell and competition committee chairman Rich McKay made it clear Wednesday that video reviews probably will be part of the process.“If we’re able to have replay confirm one of these fouls and also confirms a player be ejected,” Goodell said as the league meetings concluded, “I think there is more confidence among the coaches it will be called accurately.”After noting the unanimous approval of the new rule among coaches, Goodell said on-field officials felt the same way.“We think that is appropriate to do and it would be the first time we use replay for safety or in respect to any kind of foul,” Goodell added.Late Tuesday, the owners rewrote the rule on using the helmet, making it a 15-yard penalty for any player to lower his head to initiate any hit with the helmet. McKay called it “a significant change,” noting that it was a “technique too dangerous for the player doing it and the player being hit.”While the offender could be disqualified, owners did not call for an automatic ejection on such a play — at least not yet. In college football, when a player is penalized for targeting and a replay review affirms it, he is ejected.Including replay will be discussed and very possibly implemented at the NFL’s May meetings in Atlanta Womens Christian Miller Jersey , where another full agenda will include discussions of changes to the league’s national anthem policy; the potential sale of the Carolina Panthers; and awarding the 2019 and 2020 drafts to two of the five finalist cities.Before then, Goodell stressed that the workings of the new helmet use rule will be made clear to the players.“Our intent is to go to each team with tape and all the analysis work done (by the football operations, technology and medical staffs) and be able to present it to them,” Goodell said. “We can take the head out, and we do want to make sure certain techniques are not used in our game.”Like the coaches, the owners were emphatically behind the change.“We’ve done so much research and investigation on what creates the real concussive plays in the NFL,” Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said, “and it became obvious that so many of the plays are through the lowering of the helmet and using the helmet as a weapon. I thought this (rule) was very important.”Earlier, owners passed two more rules changes.Most noteworthy, the league eliminated the requirement that a team that scores a winning touchdown at the end of regulation kick the extra point or go for a 2-point conversion.In a January playoff game that Minnesota memorably won on a final pass play, New Orleans players were required to return to the field after leaving for a meaningless extra point. The Vikings took a knee.Of course, bettors and fantasy players could have a stake in the PAT Christian Miller Baltimore Ravens Jersey , but neither participating team did, particularly now that points scored or points differential is so low in any tiebreaking procedures.The owners also approved closing an overtime loophole that could have been embarrassing had it ever occurred.Now, if the team that gets the ball first scores a field goal, then the opponent loses possession by an interception or fumble on its first series, the down will be permitted to run to its conclusion, including awarding points scored by either team during the down.Previously, the turnover ended the game regardless — even though the team getting the takeaway conceivably could itself turn over the ball on that play and see it returned for a score by the opponent.Got it?