The Redskins are imploding right in front of our eyes

The Washington football team has no GM, a $24 million quarterback in purgatory and no direction in free agency.

Other than that, Mrs. Snyder, how was the third-down play?

An unseemly saga in the Redskins’ front office has led to the absence of general manager Scot McCloughan from the team’s headquarters during the crucial opening days of NFL free agency — and will lead to his inevitable departure, according to the Washington Post.

It appears McCloughan, a respected talent evaluator, has lost a power struggle with team president Bruce Allen — with the tacit approval of controversial owner Dan Snyder — after clashing over personnel decisions and getting smeared by an in-house mouthpiece. Redskins alum and radio voice Chris Cooley speculated last month that McCloughan, a recovering alcoholic, had lapsed into drinking, and franchise higher-ups never denied it. The Washington Post reported Allen now is running free-agency meetings and pre-draft preparations.

Which are not going well. The team’s top two wide receivers, Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, have defected in the past two days: Garcon to the 49ers and Jackson to the Bucs. But, hey, at least they re-signed 33-year-old tight end Vernon Davis and extended restricted free agent tender offers to running back Chris Thompson and linebacker Will Compton.

And then there’s quarterback Kirk Cousins, whose status reportedly was at the center of the front office drama. Cousins is set to make approximately $24 million in 2017 after being franchise-tagged for the second consecutive season. McCloughan made it known he would have tried to sign Cousins to a multi-year contract if it were up to him, and Allen is reluctant to make that commitment, according to the Post.

Things have unraveled so much that Cousins has personally asked Snyder for a trade, according to ESPN.com. He was told not to get his hopes up. KNBR radio reported Snyder does not want to make a trade that might help Kyle Shanahan, holding a grudge from when he fired Shanahan and Shanahan’s father, Mike, then the Redskins’ head coach, after an embarrassing 3-13 season in 2013.

NFL Network reported Cousins prefers to land with the 49ers, who hired former Redskins offensive coordinator Shanahan as their head coach. There’s significant traction around this rumor, and it wasn’t even dispelled Wednesday when the 49ers signed free-agent QB Brian Hoyer — Shanahan reportedly views Hoyer as a backup.