Jameis Winston Hires Joel Segal as Agent Before Return from Suspension

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston has hired Joel Segal as his agent a week ahead of his scheduled return from a three-game suspension.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network passed along the news.

Winston fired his previous agents in July during the fallout of his suspension for allegedly groping an Uber driver in 2016. He has been without an agent ever since.

The Buccaneers are off to a 2-0 start without Winston heading into Monday's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Should they pull off the home win, they'll be 3-0 already against teams that won their division last season.

Ryan Fitzpatrick has played like an NFL MVP candidate, throwing for 819 yards and eight touchdowns. Wideout DeSean Jackson said on NFL Network he believes Fitzpatrick should continue to start. 

“He’s playing on fire right now,” Jackson said. “With the way the team is rallying behind him and just playing lights-out football, you have to kind of honor it. You can’t take the hot man out. You got the hot fire right now.

"It’s like NBA Jam. We used to play NBA Jam—whoever got that hot-fire shot, you got to keep shooting, man. It’s not my decision, but I’m sure Dirk and coach Monken and the guys that make those calls, they’ll make sure they stay on fire until that fire is out. We’re going to stay on fire. That’s our job, to stay on fire, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported Fitzpatrick will start Week 4 against the Chicago Bears unless he does something "dramatically bad."

The plan at least for now is Winston to return as a backup.