Eagles Notes: Henry handles all the punting in Eagles' preseason finale

The Eagles made their decision on the team's punter apparent by using only Chas Henry in Thursday's 28-10 win over the New York Jets in the preseason finale, an indication that Henry will be with the squad for the second straight season.

Veteran Mat McBriar, who had competed with Henry for the job throughout training camp and the preseason, was not seen on the sideline. Eagles coach Andy Reid said that McBriar had not yet been cut and that the team wanted to see Henry. Henry punted four times for an average of 33.0 yards. He also held for kicker Alex Henery.

"Every day you have to go in this thing thinking there's somebody behind you, pushing you, or someone in front of you," Henry said. "That's how I went into this thing. Mat, he was [in] the lead, and I was the underdog. I was the second-string guy, and it was just, go get a job."

Henry had been the second punter behind McBriar during the first two games of the preseason, but Henry opened as punter in the third game. McBriar has been recovering from a foot injury, which hindered him last season and limited him early in camp. Reid said McBriar had enough punts for the team to form an evaluation.

Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe left the game in the first half with a strained hamstring and will undergo an MRI exam Friday. Atogwe missed the previous two preseason games because of hamstring issues and also suffered a groin injury during training camp.

"It makes it a little tougher," Reid said of evaluating Atogwe.

Atogwe, a longtime NFL starter, could be a valuable veteran in the secondary - if he could manage to stay healthy. He has not been able to do so during the preseason.

"This preseason, I've had a hamstring issue; tomorrow, a week from now, it could be done and over with, and we don't even talk about it," Atogwe said of being prone to injuries. "So I'm not concerned about what they may say or what they are saying."

The Eagles made a minor move before Thursday's game when they signed 26-year-old defensive tackle Landon Cohen and released linebacker Monte Simmons.

Cohen, a veteran with four career starts, played in Thursday's game. Simmons, who was with the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad last season, spent the offseason and preseason with the Eagles.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie called player safety the NFL's "top priority" during his news conference Thursday. He said the league's moving kickoffs forward last season was a change that was not fan-friendly but was necessary to keep the players safe. However, Lurie said he was not concerned that children would stop playing football because of the increased concern about concussions.

"It's an important issue, and anyone who doesn't take it seriously, I think, has their head in the sand," Lurie said. "But I think the NFL produces so much research with universities; we invest in so much research that the modus is there to make sure we are the very best at it and that has to filter down to youth football and everywhere else. But, listen, it's a volatile game."

Backup running back Dion Lewis was held out because of an undisclosed injury. Reserve defensive tackle Antonio Dixon did not play because Reid said he had already evaluated him fully. . . . The Eagles honored local Olympians during the game.