The Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 22nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 16th in Washington, D.C. The team improved on their 4âÂÂ8 record from 1952 and finished 6âÂÂ5âÂÂ1.
Although the NFL formally desegregated in 1946, many teams were slow to allow black athletes to compete even after the formal barrier had fallen. None were less willing to desegregate than the Washington Redskins, who sought to be the "home team" for a vast Southern market. The Redskins would remain the last bastion of racial segregation in the NFL, refusing to include a single black player on their roster until 1962.