The OTAs (off-season training activities) are over for the Eagles. The next time they gather as a full squad will be for a team meeting on July 24 at Lehigh University. Two days later, the full-contact scrimmages will begin and the crowds once again will flock to Bethlehem, Pa.

Only then will we begin to get the answers to the questions that lingered as yesterday's spring camp at the NovaCare Complex ended.

You know the questions:

Will quarterback Donovan McNabb be recovered from his bout with shoulder tendinitis, which forced him to shut down prematurely at this camp?

Will disgruntled cornerback Lito Sheppard show up at Lehigh and not pout after boycotting the eight-day voluntary camp in South Philadelphia?

Will prized free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel and speedy rookie receiver DeSean Jackson lag because of the time they missed while nursing hamstring injuries?

The Eagles are confident that McNabb will recover.

"He'll be fine," coach Andy Reid said. "He's had an MRI, he's been checked out, and we know what it is. We know how to handle this. It is very similar to what he had in 2004. I'm being cautious. If it was in-season, he'd be able to get out and crank it, but you don't do that right now."

A team source said that if McNabb were a baseball player, he'd probably have landed on the 15-day disabled list, then be ready to go. Reid said he was encouraged because McNabb's legs were healthy.

"He feels great, and I think that's a big thing going into camp," he said.

Reid said he had tried to contact Sheppard recently without success.

"I've reached out to him to try to talk to him," the coach said. "It was one of those things where I'm sure he's been counseled not to talk. It's a cat-and-mouse game right now, but that's OK. It will all work out however it works out. Sports have always been this way."

The Eagles' coach noted that the New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio used to squabble over contracts often.

"He held out every year," Reid said. "Babe Ruth used to hold out for more money. Professional sports have always been that way, and it hasn't changed. You work with it. Do you like it? No, but you work with it and try to keep things together."

Reid is confident that Sheppard will show up and be in shape at Lehigh, which is what fellow cornerback Sheldon Brown said throughout the camp.

"That's the way Lito has been," Reid said. "He's a good person, and I don't think that part will change. At the same time, he's doing what he thinks is right. That doesn't necessarily mean I think it's right, but that's what he feels."

Reid said he was more concerned about Jackson than Samuel's missing time at the Eagles' final spring camp. Both players sat out the final five practices with hamstring injuries.

"DeSean has a lot of work ahead of him both mentally and physically," Reid said. "When you're young like that, you can't afford those kinds of things, because the game passes you by real fast. We were working him into the offense, but he's got to get himself right and healthy. The hamstring isn't something that has bothered him before."

Jackson said he would recover from his injury by training camp.

Despite some of the injuries and contract problems during the camp, Reid thought things went well for the most part.

"I just met with the guys this morning and I told them, 'We've built a foundation, and now your success in the off-season will depend on your work ethic,' " Reid said. " 'How you approach things from now until training camp, I think it directly affects how you do in-season.' "

Third-year linebacker Omar Gaither said that was true.

"As a rookie, you probably feel like you have a break now," Gaither said. "But the older guys around here know that Lehigh is no joke, and if you take a few weeks off, it's going to be hard to get back in shape and be ready for what's going to hit you at Lehigh.

"I kind of made that mistake as a rookie."

One of the main things Reid wants to see when the Eagles arrive at training camp is the speed his skill players showed at the NovaCare Complex.

"I want to see it when they are beat up and see how fast we can play throughout training camp," Reid said. "I didn't see enough of that last year."

What Reid doesn't want to see in the next few weeks is his coaching staff. He said the staff had outlined the workouts for training camp and needed to rest.

Extra points. Guard Shawn Andrews was excused from practice for the fifth day in a row for personal reasons. Running back Brian Westbrook also was excused from the final practice. . . . The Eagles will make cuts today because they can take only 80 players to training camp and the roster was at 88 yesterday.

See video from yesterday's final day of minicamp, including

Andy Reid's press conference,

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