Dave Hutchinson of the Star Ledger is reporting that WR Braylon Edwards and CB Lito Sheppard were not in practice Tuesday.

Edwards, who dropped a potential touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday and has four key drops this season, was excused from practice due to a court appearance in connection with an alleged assault outside a Cleveland nightclub in October. He’s due back Tuesday night.

Sheppard was absent from the portion of practice open to the media, but the reason for his absence was undisclosed.

No worries on the Edwards front. Obviously, we all knew he would have to deal with a court date sooner or later over his October run in with friends of LeBron James.

Lito is a bit more of a mystery and concern. With an upcoming game at San Diego against one of the hottest QBs in the playoffs, I suspect we will be in dire need of “all hands on deck” in the defensive secondary to deal with the likes of San Diego WRs Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd and TE Antonio Gates.

Hopefully this will not be an issue for us come game day.