The Washington Redskins currently do not employ a general manager because they fired Scot McCloughan on the first day of free agency. They might let their quarterback, Kirk Cousins, play under the franchise tag for a second straight season. I’d say these are weird times for the Redskins, but in Washington, weirdness is actually the norm.

By now, Cousins should be used to the chaos considering he saw firsthand how the RG3 fiasco developed. That’s probably why he appears to be unfazed by all of the recent drama. Cousins said Tuesday morning on ESPN that he isn’t “expecting anything to happen” before the draft in regards to a potential trade.

The trade rumors have swirled ever since the team franchise tagged Cousins for a second straight year, with the 49ers reportedly being the likely team to make a move. Kyle Shanahan, the new coach in San Francisco, was Cousins’ offensive coordinator from 2012-13. But as former agent Joel Corry recently explained for CBS Sports, a trade is unlikely, which echoes what Cousins said Tuesday.

Here’s what Corry wrote:

The 49ers are in great position to get Cousins for nothing by being patient. The Redskins having two cost-prohibitive options in 2018 to restrict Cousins again makes it likely the quarterback hits the open market next year. Using a transition tag, which would give the Redskins matching rights for an offer sheet signed by another team, would cost $28,732,320. A third franchise tag would be $34,478,784. Additionally, the Redskins would probably want a king’s ransom for Cousins, even though a 2019 third-round compensatory pick, which is at the end of the round, is all they would get if he leaves in free agency next offseason.

So, it’s up to the Redskins to reach a long-term agreement with Cousins or let him play under the tag. As our Will Brinson explained a couple weeks ago, it’s Cousins who holds all the leverage in this standoff. 

Brinson explains:

The “option” for 2018 is not a great one, because it would ultimately be a one-year, roughly $34.5 million fully guaranteed contract, a 44 percent raise from his 2017 franchise tag. Even if the Redskins used the transition tag in 2018, they would still have handed Cousins more than $70 million in guaranteed money over three years with no long-term opportunity to keep him. 

And that’s the problem with the negotiations that are going on. The Redskins have to offer Cousins a deal that, at bare minimum, features $53 million in guaranteed money, because that’s how much Cousins will make from them over the next two years if he refuses to sign a contract and just plays out the string.

In the past two seasons, Cousins has completed 68.3 percent of his passes and averaged 7.9 yards per attempt. He’s thrown 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He’s posted a 99.3 passer rating and the Redskins have gone 17-14-1 record with one playoff appearance

Cousins is by no means a perfect quarterback -- just look at how that charity flag football game went. Like most, he’s flawed and has been helped along substantially by an impressive receiving core. That said, in a league lacking 32 starting-caliber quarterbacks, Cousins definitely has a market. Eventually, someone will hand him a deal he wants, which sounds more likely to come from a team that actually has a GM.

The Redskins are reportedly expected to hire a GM after the draft. And the deadline to sign Cousins to a long-term deal is July 15.