Sheldon Brown wants a trade

While it seems like every team has issues with players demanding trades, the Philadelphia Eagles have run into the same problem two years in a row. Last year, Lito Sheppard requested a trade that eventually saw him shipped off to the Jets for a fifth round pick. Now, Sheldon Brown has requested a trade, citing a "lack of respect," and the Eagles have already responded, denying his request, but I doubt that we've heard the end of this.

This year, Sheldon might have a valid concern. The Eagles have him under contract until 2012, but this upcoming season is the only one with any guaranteed money, meaning that Philadelphia can (and probably would) cut him before the deal reaches its end without any penalty. Of course, since Joselio Hanson signed a five year, $21 million contract this offseason, Sheldon can't be too happy about essentially being paid less than the nickel corner. Plus, with the Eagles sitting on a bunch of cap room, there figured to be at least a few players looking to get some more money out of the front office this year, particularly the players like Sheldon, who just turned 30, and probably has one more big money contract in him.

So, what do the Eagles do? After the soap opera drama that was the Lito Sheppard situation last season, perhaps it would be better if they were to try and find a trade partner for Sheldon. Of course, that means that they would almost certainly be taking a CB with the 21st pick in this weekend's NFL Draft. They could look at players like Vontae Davis, Victor Harris or Darius Butler as possible picks at that spot. They could stick with the players they already have, and put their faith into Joselio Hanson and Jack Ikegwuonu and pick a CB in the mid to late rounds of the draft. Or, they could just go to the table with him and redo his deal to see if he would be willing to stay on and be happy as an Eagle. Sheldon had a great season last year, not allowing a touchdown pass until the NFC Championship, and he and Asante Samuel formed one of the best corner duos in the NFL. It would be a shame to break that up after just one season, but it certainly looks like a reality now.

Although it seems unlikely, there is one last avenue...the Eagles could trade Sheldon to the Arizona Cardinals in a package for Anquan Boldin. The Eagles haven't ruled out making a move for Boldin, and it would certainly address a need position, though it would certainly handicap them in terms of drafting, since it would almost certainly require them to take a CB with that first pick. With everything else that's happened this offseason, who knows if this could happen? At this point, I'm not putting it past anyone to try something like this, though I doubt the chances of it becoming a reality.

Whatever happens, it just seems like the drama never stops with the Eagles. Just once, I'd like an offseason free of this stuff...is that too much to ask?