JaCorey Shepherd does not understand what is happening to him

This morning, the Eagles did something they had already done.

13 days ago, they signed cornerback JaCorey Shepherd to the practice squad, and to make room for Shepherd they cut Darrell Greene. It seemed largely innocuous at the time; practice squad moves happen often, and rarely if ever mean anything.

Then, six days later, the Eagles reversed the move. They signed Greene back to the practice squad and cut Shepherd. We postulated at the time that it was because of Lane Johnson’s pending suspension; it was the only reasonable explanation we had for literally undoing a move you had made one week prior.

So imagine my confusion when, as I headed down the stairs of my apartment this morning, I received a text from the organization informing me that the Eagles had cut Darrell Greene from the practice squad and signed JaCorey Shepherd to the practice squad.

Shepherd, for his part, had his locker waiting for him Monday morning at the NovaCare facility, his name plate and No. 36 in place. He lives just a few minutes from the facility, so it was no big deal for him to come back in to work when he received word from the team.

The Eagles haven’t explained why they’re doing this, he said, and he doesn’t necessarily mind that.

“They just tell me, roster moves are roster moves,” Shepherd said. “They just tell me they want me here, don’t go nowhere. They want me here. If I’m here, they want me here, and in the end that’s all that matters.”

Shepherd, who doesn’t have a Twitter account, said he didn’t know the Eagles had picked Greene back up when they cut Shepherd last week. He laughed when he found out.

“That’s crazy, they released him for me, and then right back,” Shepherd said, grinning.

If players are on the practice squad on Tuesdays, they get paid. He’ll likely be here tomorrow, so he will get paid for the week. Effectively, if the Eagles continue to swap Greene and Shepherd each week, it’s a way to have 11 players on your practice squad. You just pay two of them half the money.

Shepherd said the Eagles sort of gave him a heads up that his release wasn’t going to be a long-term thing last week.

“With last week being a bye, I was pretty cool with it,” Shepherd said. “As long as I was back here Monday morning, I was good.”

We’ll be sure to cover this incredibly vital, developing story as the season continues. Check back for updates.