He showed up, thereby avoiding a substantial fine for missing the mandatory sessions, and he also avoided sharing his true feelings about the current starting lineup, which, you might have heard, does not include him.

"I just play football," Sheppard said yesterday. "I don't have any expectations."

And with that, and a few other non-answers, he was out of the locker room unscathed. When he will come back - if he will ever come back - is fodder for another time.

The next set of workouts, the vaunted Organized Team Activities, are voluntary and, on the face of it, Sheppard isn't considered likely to take part. So, it might be mid-July in beautiful Bethlehem, Pa., before the plot moves forward and we find out his actual level of unhappiness.

In the interim, the Eagles may decide to trade Sheppard or might upgrade his contract so he feels somewhat better about losing his starting left cornerback position to free agent Asante Samuel.

Either is possible, although it is just as likely that nothing much will change and Sheppard will be given the simple choice of liking the new reality or lumping it. If he chooses to like it, the Eagles will pay him $2 million for the coming season, which isn't that bad, even considering the price of gas.

Obviously, he would have preferred a contract like the one given Samuel, but, then again, the Eagles would have preferred Sheppard not miss 14 games because of injury in the last three seasons.

As an organization, the Eagles would prefer that this simmering little controversy would go away, or at least that people would stop talking about it. Asked specifically about Sheppard's situation yesterday, coach Andy Reid said, "I'm not going to get into all of that," which is his default setting for that line of questioning. The team doesn't even have a depth chart posted on its Web site, which seems a little silly, like fixing a broken window by drawing the curtain.

Somewhat lost in the matter is that having a bunch of good cornerbacks on the roster is a very useful thing these days. If the Eagles can placate Sheppard, the defensive backfield could be exceptional this season.

It wouldn't be that surprising if defensive coordinator Jim Johnson looks at his side of the ball and decides that the Eagles' base defense, given the personnel, isn't a 4-3 alignment, but a 4-2.

"There are going to be times when all three of them are on the field," Johnson said of cornerbacks Samuel, Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. "It might be 60 percent of the time. It might be 70 percent of the time. We are going to put our best football players on the field. It might not just be against three wideouts, you never know."

As offenses in the NFL evolve, there has been a greater emphasis on sets that employ multiple wide receivers. Defenses are forced to play more "nickel" and "dime" coverages, with five or six defensive backs and fewer linebackers. Those aren't special or gimmick coverage schemes any longer. They are becoming standard, and if Johnson envisions having three cornerbacks on the field 70 percent of the time, that is really your base defense.

"It's a copycat league," linebacker Omar Gaither said. "People see the success the Patriots have had with four wides or what teams do with a running back like a Brian Westbrook, who can catch the ball out of the backfield. People see that success and try to emulate it.

"When you see a team like the Steelers going with three wides, that's when you really know the league is evolving. We played more nickel last season than I've ever played in my life, and that's the way the game is going. Trust me. The more cornerbacks you have, the better."

The Eagles - with Sheppard, Samuel, Brown and Joselio Hanson - have the depth to play that game as often as Johnson might like.

"It's really week-to-week," Reid said. "If you're playing the Colts, the whole game you're going to be doing that. I think it's important to have three corners who can play. Right now, we've got a good number of guys that we think can play."

But right now is the first week of May, and it's a long way to the season and a long time before Lito Sheppard has to worry about avoiding fines and questions again.

In the end, Lito might not be going anywhere.

Neither are the questions, though.

Bob Ford:

Vote your opinion of a three-cornerback rotation

at http://go.philly.com/sports.

Inside

at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com.

Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/bobford.