The mystery over whether the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback would show up for the team's mandatory minicamp this weekend is over. Now, the big question is, "What happens next?"

"We all know the situation at hand," Sheppard told reporters before going in for a team meeting. "It still stands unresolved. But I'm here. I'm here to practice and that's what I'm focused on right now."

The situation is Sheppard wants a new contract or he wants to be traded to another team that will give him one. The situation is that the Eagles signed Asante Samuel in early March and immediately named him their starting left cornerback, which had been Sheppard's position for the last 4 years.

The situation is the Eagles have been shopping Sheppard since the day they signed Samuel, and gave his agent, Lamont Smith, permission to talk to teams about a trade even before that.

The Eagles had given every indication that they probably would trade Sheppard by no later than last weekend's draft. But the draft came and went and Sheppard still was an Eagle.

After the draft, coach Andy Reid said the Eagles might not trade Sheppard after all. That they might just hang on to him and team him with Samuel and the Eagles' other starting corner, Sheldon Brown. He compared it to when he had Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent and Al Harris in the same secondary.

"We just rotated all of them and they were all starters in our eyes," Reid said.

On paper, it's a terrific idea. Put Samuel on the left side and Sheppard on the right. Move Brown into the slot, where he always has been most effective. It would give the Eagles the best cornerback trio in the NFC and one of the best in the league.

But Taylor, Vincent and Harris weren't as unhappy with their contracts as Sheppard is with his right now. He still has 4 years left on an extension he signed in 2004, just 2 years after the Eagles selected him in the first round of the '02 draft.

Sheppard received an $8.7-million signing bonus in '04. But the salaries of the league's top cornerbacks have risen dramatically since then. The Eagles signed Samuel to a 6-year, $57-million contract that included $20 million in guaranteed money. Sheppard is scheduled to earn a $2 million base salary this season.

"I think it can get resolved," Sheppard said yesterday. "That's one of the reasons I'm here and working toward that."

Sheppard said he spoke with Reid this week and indicated that that conversation was one of the reasons he decided to come to the minicamp.

"Obviously I'm here [after speaking with Reid]," he said.

Reid indicated last week that the Eagles might be willing to revisit Sheppard's contract situation.

"We'll talk about all that," the coach said. "I'll talk to Lito about that."

Sheppard declined to say whether he would attend the Eagles' voluntary offseason training activities following the minicamp if his contract situation isn't resolved. He also declined to say whether he still wants to be traded.

The cornerback clearly doesn't relish his position in the eye of the storm the way Terrell Owens did a few years ago when he demanded a new contract. Clearly, there will be no driveway news conferences in front of his home or don't-talk-to-me warnings to Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

"In this situation, you've got to look at the positive side of it," he said. "That's just my nature. I'm probably the least controversial person in this world and I just want to continue to do that." *