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As Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston prepares to return from a three-game suspension, Winston continues to not have an agent.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Winston is still deciding on his next representative. He interviewed five different firms prior to training camp. By the time his suspension began, Winston had narrowed the list to three.

Winston’s current contract runs through 2019. Next year’s salary of $20.5 million is guaranteed for injury until the start of the new league year, when it becomes fully guaranteed.

This dynamic gives the Buccaneers an incentive to not play Winston, opting to go with Ryan Fitzpatrick while keeping Winston in bubble wrap and then making a decision about whether to keep him, to cut him, or to sign him to a new deal after the season.

The Buccaneers also could do a new deal now, one that would protect them against a potential $20.5 million obligation for 2019, which in turn would remove the disincentive to play him.

For now, the clear incentive is to stick with Ryan Fitzpatrick. But even if he plays well enough to keep the job for the rest of the season, what happens in 2019? Fitzpatrick has played well in the past, both in Buffalo and with the Jets. And then he has gone the other way. The Bucs need to at least be considering that when they decide what to do next year.

Some would call this a good problem to have. But it’s clearly a problem. And there’s clearly a way that it can go that would go poorly for the Buccaneers over the long term.