Before free agency opened, the Eagles vehemently denied rumors of any interest in trading cornerback Lito Sheppard, presumably to avoid undermining efforts to sign former Pats cornerback Asante Samuel once the clock struck midnight on February 29.

After Samuel was signed and sealed, the Eagles began to shop Sheppard. 

But they weren’t able to get an offer they’d accept before the draft or during it.  Since then, there have been rumors of interest on the part of the Jaguars, but nothing serious.

And now the process takes on a greater degree of risk for the Eagles as the team convenes for a mandatory minicamp.  If Sheppard tears an ACL or pops an Achilles’ tendon, the Eagles are on the hook for his $2 million base salary.

The other problem is that Sheppard’s future trade value would plummet if he were to suffer a serious injury in the short term.  Come 2009, other teams would be less inclined to give up what they’d be inclined to offer right now if they’re getting a player who has yet to prove that he can still perform at a high level post-injury.

There’s also a chance that Sheppard will boycott the mandatory camp, but doing so would result in a per-day fine of more than $14,000, and also would subject him to a partial signing bonus forfeiture.  As we understand it, Sheppard will attend and participate fully.

And so the Eagles will have to let him participate, and likewise they will bear the risk on an injury derailing any effort to move Sheppard for maximum value.