Shock release quarterback Hansen after two games

Casey Hansen’s second stint as a Spokane Shock quarterback lasted two games. The Arena Football League team released Hansen and wide receiver Ryan Bagley on Thursday. It was also announced that new center Raymond McNeil, acquired along with quarterback Erik Meyer in a trade earlier this week, will be one of the team’s three marketing players who earn $1,000 per game instead of $400. Defensive end Khreem Smith, dealt to Utah along with center Antonio Narcisse, will have the same designation with the Blaze. Meyer, the former Eastern Washington University standout who was a Shock backup last season, is expected to start when Spokane entertains Philadelphia next Friday. “Casey did the best he could for being thrown into the fire the way he was,” head coach Rob Keefe said. “I don’t think people realize Erik is a starter in this league. He’s just been in two situations, one with (Utah’s) Tommy Grady being one of the top statistical guys in the league this year and with (Spokane’s) Kyle Rowley last year where he’s just been looking for an opportunity.” Spokane has been in a quarterback quandary since Rowley (shoulder) and Bill Stull (knee) suffered injuries last month. Hansen was 42 of 78 (54 percent) with eight touchdowns and one interception in two losses. Bagley didn’t appear in a game. At the time of the trade, Keefe said it was the first of a sequence of moves that would eventually help replace the loss of Smith, one of the top defensive players in the league. One of those potential targets was former Shock defensive lineman Jeremy Geathers, but he opted to sign with Chicago. Geathers, who suffered a torn ACL last year, was released recently by British Columbia of the CFL. “I want to keep the fans involved, they kind of go up and down with me, but things always change and situations occur when somebody chooses some place else,” Keefe said. “We were talking as much as possible to Geathers, but he chose Chicago and we have to live with that. … There are always (other) options. … We’re talking with agents and other leagues. Where we are with our record (4-7), I’m not going to lie about it, everybody has to make the best decisions for both parties, but we’re trying to get the best team player in here.”