WHAT DOES A disgruntled Eagle do when his efforts to get out of here come to naught?

Why, hire Drew Rosenhaus, of course.

Rosenhaus confirmed a report on the "Pro Football Talk" Web site yesterday - that Rosenhaus has been hired by Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard, who formerly was represented by Peter Schaffer and Lamont Smith.

But before we all assemble for driveway situps or a press conference on Lito's lawn, a source close to the situation said Sheppard absolutely plans to report for training camp next week on time. That has been a burning question ever since Sheppard skipped the team's voluntary workouts last month.

Rosenhaus didn't want to detail the course of action he will take, but he did not seem to relish the idea of this situation taking the tone of his representation of wideout Terrell Owens, which became extremely adversarial before Owens' messy 2006 departure for the Cowboys.

"I'm very optimistic, working with the Eagles, that we're going to find a mutually beneficial solution," Rosenhaus said. He and his partner and brother, Jason, met yesterday afternoon with Eagles player personnel vice president Howie Roseman. Eagles president Joe Banner, on vacation with his family, joined the meeting via phone.

Sheppard, unhappy with a 2004 contract extension that locks him up through 2011 well below the going rate for free-agent Pro Bowl cornerbacks, was given permission to seek a trade early in the offseason. Schaffer and Smith met with several teams, but offers never rose to the level the Eagles expected, and teams were leery of Sheppard's contract demands with Sheppard coming off an injury-plagued season. In fact, Sheppard, scheduled to make $2 million this year, has missed 14 games over the past three seasons.

So even though the Birds signed Asante Samuel to a 6-year, $57 million free-agent contract as Sheppard's replacement, their current plan seems to be to go into the season with Samuel, Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, all starting-quality corners. Only Samuel is assured of being a starter.

Neither Banner nor Sheppard could be reached for comment. Schaffer said he did not want to comment. He apparently found out a few days ago that he was being dropped, despite a strong relationship with Eagles management that resulted in the unusual step of the team letting him shop for a trade.

Schaffer might have been feeling a bit of déjà vu. In 2005, Eagles left tackle Tra Thomas left Schaffer and signed with Rosenhaus, hoping to get his contract redone. Nothing happened, and by the next offseason, after Thomas witnessed the Owens debacle firsthand, the tackle had returned to Schaffer, who remains his agent.

Conventional wisdom around the league seems to be that at this point, Sheppard's best option is to play well and be healthy this season for the Eagles, then try the trade market again. His hiring of Rosenhaus - who will be paid only when Sheppard gets a new deal somewhere - would seem to indicate that Sheppard is disinclined to pursue that course.

Last month on sportsline.com, NFL analyst Clark Judge went to four anonymous GMs to assess the trade value of Sheppard and a few other players involved in controversies. All raised concerns about Sheppard's injury history, and three of four noted that he is not a physical, Cover 2-type corner.

In the past, Rosenhaus has been a catalyst for some NFL clients seeking trades or new contracts. But in the wake of the Owens situation, it is hard to envision the Birds eagerly helping Rosenhaus burnish his legend by leveraging a trade that they and Schaffer couldn't manage.

A source close to the situation has said the Eagles also are talking to Rosenhaus about restructuring the contract of one of his other clients, star-crossed 2003 first-round draft pick Jerome McDougle. Apparently, the team wants McDougle - a longshot to make the team this year - to take a pay cut, just to continue his bid to make the roster. McDougle is scheduled to make $950,000 in the final year of his rookie pact.

 

Birdseed

 

Eagles rookies and select vets report to Lehigh on Monday, vets a week from today. The first scheduled full-team workout open to the public is Saturday, July 26 . . . Eagles rookie corner Jack Ikegwuonu, who will not play this season while rehabbing a knee injury, had his trial on residential burglary and criminal trespass charges postponed again, until Sept. 15, according to the Milawukee Journal-Sentinel. The former Wisconsin star and his brother, Bill, were arrested in DeKalb, Ill., in November 2006 for allegedly trying to steal an Xbox video-game system at Northern Illinois, where Bill was a defensive back. After the Eagles drafted him in the fourth round this year, Jack Ikegwuonu told reporters the incident was a misunderstanding. He agreed to a plea bargain in the case, but it fell through when his brother would not agree to the terms. *