Eagles Notes: Old friend to be covering Jackson on Sunday

DeSean Jackson, fresh from his one-catch, 1-yard performance against Tampa Bay, gets to visit with a friend this Sunday.

That scenario might not be as inviting as it sounds.

Jackson will be covered Sunday by the Oakland Raiders' Nnamdi Asomugha, an all-pro cornerback last season.

"He's a great player," Jackson said before practice yesterday. "I respect him, but I still have to do my job and go out there and get open as a wide receiver. I know him personally, so we'll go out there and we'll see how it goes."

Jackson and Asomugha played for the California Golden Bears, although they never played together. Asomugha, a first-round pick by the Raiders in 2002, said during a conference call that he admires and respects Jackson's emergence as a wide receiver.

"I know DeSean very well," Asomugha said. "We're both from the Los Angeles area. We keep in contact here and there and I've known him since Cal because I was out here. I'm very happy for him. I'm very impressed with the way he plays. He's a playmaker."

Jackson wore a red baseball cap around the locker room yesterday, but instead of a red P it had the letters LA on the front.

"I'm not going to say the [Phillies] are going to lose, but I'm not going to stop representing" the Dodgers, Jackson said.

Guard Todd Herremans returned to the practice field yesterday for the first time since suffering a stress fracture in his left foot during training camp, but it appears as if his goal of playing in the Eagles' Oct. 26 game at Washington might be overly ambitious.

Herremans was limited to light individual work at the start of practice before retreating to the locker room. He was not available to comment afterward.

Coach Andy Reid said the Eagles would be cautious with Herremans.

"This type of injury, you don't want to rush back, period," Reid said. "You want to make sure you take a little bit of a conservative approach on this and, with Todd, that's a hard thing to do. He's an aggressive guy that wants to be out there."

Former NFL coach Tony Dungy said Sunday that he advised Eagles quarterback Michael Vick not to sign with the Oakland Raiders. Vick said yesterday that he did not think Dungy's advice had anything to do with the Raiders' lack of success.

"When I got released from prison, I didn't care where I would have played," Vick said. "It really didn't come off like that. I think Coach Dungy wanted me to be in a place where I was going to be protected and [where] I just wouldn't have a lot of pressure on me.

"If I would have went [to Oakland], there just would have been a lot of quarterback controversy. I think the most important thing is for JaMarcus [Russell] to get his reps and get a feel for the game and play to prove he can play in this league."

Raiders coach Tom Cable said his team never considered signing Vick.

Cornerback Sheldon Brown was a limited participant in practice because of an abdominal strain.

Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed to this article.