The Philadelphia Eagles have stated there is a lot of interest from other teams in Lito Sheppard. But how true is this? And at what price? Sources from around the league have told OTR that Lito’s value is not worth what the Eagles are hoping for.

Throughout the offseason the Eagles have been actively shopping Sheppard in hopes to acquire another impact player. To be fair, many of those players were untouchable or are considered untouchable. The Arizona Cardinals stated early in the offseason that Larry Fitzgerald would not be traded. The Philadelphia Eagles still tried changing their minds by offering them Sheppard and a second round pick. Arizona didn’t think twice, passed on the offer, and restructured Fitzgerald’s contract to keep him on the team. The same attempt was made by Philadelphia to acquire Detroit wide receiver Roy Williams. In a similar situation, Detroit stated that they will not trade Williams and they passed on the offer. Reports have surfaced recently that the Eagles offered Sheppard and draft pick(s) to Cincinnati for Chad Johnson and Kansas City for Jared Allen. Again, no luck.

So how valuable is Lito Sheppard? He is only 27 years old and a two-time pro bowl cornerback in the prime of his career. You would think his value would be high. Apparently it’s not for two reasons. Lito has missed 14 games in the past three seasons. His ability to play a full season is in question and teams are completely aware. There is no question that when Lito does play that he is one of the top cornerbacks in the league with play-making ability. He has made game-clinching fourth quarter plays and has returned three of his 17 career interceptions for touchdowns, including two against the hated Dallas Cowboys. However, his inability to play a 16 game season in recent years leads to the second problem that is making his value drop. Once (or if) Lito is traded he will be demanding a seven to eight million dollar contract. Teams are very hesitant in committing to pay Lito this kind of money if he continues to get hurt.

In a couple days we will find out what Lito’s actual worth is. If he can stay healthy he could be a steal for the team that takes the gamble. ESPN’s Sal Palontonio stated on Comcast Live that Lito Sheppard’s worth right now is at best a second round pick. If this is all the Eagles can get for him, I don’t see how Eagles fans can be happy. Sources close to the situation have told OTR that the Eagles are hoping to use Lito to move up in the draft. However, word around the league is that Lito’s value could curtail the Eagles’ hopes in making this happen.