BROWN'S TRADE REQUEST NOT SURPRISING

Updated: April 20, 2009 — 5:13 PM EDT

042009_brown_400 — Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown wants to be traded. (Yong Kim / File photo)

Sheldon Brown is unhappy with his contract and wants to be traded.

Fish are fond of water.

Neither bit of news should come as a surprise.

The Eagles' response to Brown's trade demand, on the other hand, is surprising because they typically do not comment on such matters.

“It’s very unfortunate and counterproductive that Sheldon has chosen to go public with his feelings about his situation," the team said in a statement. "After thorough evaluation by himself and discussions with his family and agents, he chose to accept an extension of his rookie contract early that provided his family financial security for the rest of his life. It removed any concerns about health or performance that all other players in his draft class had to worry about. He has three years remaining on that contract and, after taking the signing bonus and his first two years of salary into account, we feel that Sheldon is being paid fairly. Focusing only on a player’s salary for a given year is not a valid analysis.

“There have been league MVP’s, Super Bowl champion quarterbacks, and perennial Pro Bowlers who have been in a similar situation. All of their teams have required them to wait until their contract expired or there was only one year remaining before any adjustment took place. It is only in the most extraordinary, in fact, less than a handful of circumstances in the last ten years that any players two new years into a contract with three years left have been adjusted. We don’t think this qualifies as an extraordinary circumstance.

“Sheldon’s comments under the circumstances actually serve to devalue him in a trade if we were willing to consider it; which we are not.”

It has been known for some time that Brown wasn't happy with his contract, but today's report from ESPN is the first public display of that displeasure.

Asked about his contract after fellow cornerback Lito Sheppard was traded to the New York Jets last month, Brown made it clear he felt he deserved a pay hike.

"I'll let my agent handle that," the veteran cornerback said. "I will say this: sometimes dependability is better than ability. If somebody has outplayed his contract, I think it would be the guy you can count on week in and week out."

On Brown's personal web site, he boasts that he hasn't missed a game since he started playing football in sixth grade. Don't have the records of his seventh- and eighth-grade seasons in South Carolina, but it says right in the Eagles' media guide that he has played 124 straight games in the NFL since being taken in the second round of the 2002 draft.

Attempts to reach Brown and his agent Jason Chayut have failed so far today. Brown's wife Jenny said the cornerback is in the Philadelphia area. It will be interesting to see if Brown shows up for the Eagles' mandatory minicamp a week from Friday.

Published: April 20, 2009 — 5:13 PM EDT