Lions notes: How can the Detroit Lions escape no-man’s land?

The Detroit Lions seem stuck. They seem to enter every season with the off chance to sneak into a playoff spot, but seem unable to land a playoff spot higher than the six seed. Lions fans are all more than aware of the team’s inability to win a playoff game, or even a division title, in the Matthew Stafford era.

The Ringer’s Robert Mays took stock of five NFL teams that seem to be stuck in no-man’s land, and the Lions made the list.

Mays mentions the regression the offense showed last year, as Stafford had one of the worst seasons in his career and the struggles they had in pass defense last year. The team has huge question marks entering next season as well. Darrell Bevell’s new run-focused offense seems to be a blast from the past, and may not work in the modern NFL. The team still does not have a starting caliber outside corner to play across Darius Slay.

With so many question marks entering the upcoming season it is hard to get a gauge on where the team stands, and how they will escape the dreaded no-man’s land.

• Detroit Lions team reporter Tori Petry took to Twitter to recap Wednesday’s minicamp action. She highlighted the work of the teams top two receivers Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay, both of whom were limited.

• Detroit News’ Matthew Schoch gave us an interesting tidbit in an article that he wrote Thursday:

Since the Portsmouth Spartans moved to Detroit to become the Lions in 1934, every single season of Lions’ football has featured a player born in Michigan.

That record is at risk this year, though. The departure of T.J. Lang earlier this offseason left the team without any Great Lakes state-born players, and entering minicamp there is only one in state representative on the Detroit Lions.

Anthony Pittman, a linebacker out of Wayne State University, is a long shot to make the roster, but is the last hope for their to be an in-state representative on Detroit’s 2019 roster.

• Pro Football Focus gave us some additional context as to who the Lions are getting with new wide receiver signing Jermaine Kearse:

• Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton listed who he believes to be the most promising building block on every NFL roster, and he chose wide receiver Kenny Golladay for Detroit.