It remains to be seen whether cornerback Lito Sheppard still will be with the Eagles when they open the season in September. But if he is, that will be just fine and dandy with defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

While many remain skeptical that Sheppard and fellow cornerbacks Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown can co-exist in the same defensive backfield, Johnson isn't one of them.

"I look forward to it every day," he said. "It's like having two Big Browns in the Kentucky Derby. (When) I walk out there, I see Lito, I see Asante and I see Sheldon. It's good. Those are good players."

Throw in underrated backup Joselio Hanson and, on paper at least, the Eagles may have the most talented cornerback foursome in the NFL. But the problem lies in keeping the quartet happy.

Sheppard's unhappiness with his current contract, which still has four years left to run, was one of the reasons the Eagles tried to trade him before the draft and also signed Samuel in March.

But they never received an offer they liked. So, for the immediate future, he's an Eagle. Sheppard participated in the team's mandatory three-day minicamp last week, though he described his situation as "unresolved."

At the minicamp, Johnson rotated Sheppard, Samuel and Brown at the two cornerback spots. Johnson said he thinks he can find enough playing time to keep all three happy. He even indicated that he may use all of them together in his base defense occasionally.

"There are going to be times where all three of them are on the field, there's no question about that," Johnson said. "It might be 60 percent of the time, it might be 70 percent of the time. We're going to get our best football players on the field. And it might not just be against three wideouts."

Besides Sheppard's unhappiness with his contract situation, his inability to stay healthy also was a major factor in the Eagles' decision to bring in Samuel. Sheppard has missed 15 games over the last three seasons with an assortment of injuries and frequently struggles when he's not close to 100 percent.

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