New England Patriots: What to Make of Darren Sharper and Renaldo Hill Workouts

Just when you thought Bill Belichick's shopping spree was over, it appears the New England Patriots aren't finished in the 2011 NFL free agency frenzy. 

Len Pasquarelli of the Sports Xchange reported on Sunday night that the Patriots are having safetiesDarren Sharper and Renaldo Hill in for workouts on Monday afternoon. That makes three big-name safeties the Patriots have looked at since the clock started on the 2011 NFL offseason.

Wait, what's that? Did Boston Globe writer Shalize Manza Young really say that Bill Belichick is "desperately" searching for a free safety? That's it, time to fire up the Brandon Meriweather trade rumor mill for the 3,000th time in his five-year career!

Hold your horses, though. Sharper has played at a high level in the past, but who knows what's left in the tank. He was limited by a knee injury last season, but is only two seasons removed from a league-leading nine interceptions and three returned for touchdowns.

Two years in the NFL is like a lifetime, though. So much can change, and no one is safe from a brutal fate at the hands of Father Time. That's especially true of safeties in their 30-somethings.

Thank goodness for Tom E. Curran's detective work over at Comcast Sports Net New England. His questions to Patriots personnel guru Nick Caserio really opened some eyes.

"We're just doing our due diligence...It's standard operating procedure," Caserio said of the free agent workouts. "The guys that are here are working. We're just trying to evaluate the market to the best of our ability and have as much information at our disposal as possible."

Wait, so the Patriots might not be searching for Meriweather's replacement, but only double-checking all their options in the event of an emergency? Well, that's no fun (at least not for fans of the Meriweather trade rumor mill). 

But "fun" isn't what drives Belichick's daily operations at 1 Patriots Place. That honor belongs only to "winning." It's wise of Belichick to at least check the clock on Sharper and Hill and see how much sand is left in the top of the hourglass. We have already seen a rash of injuries in less than a month since training camps opened up. It's good to have an emergency list in the event of...well, an emergency

Caserio might have masterfully deflected those questions, but even that may be reading too much into it. While either Sharper or Hill would be a nice addition to the secondary, it's a little extreme to think of either as the missing piece to a Super Bowl defense. The Patriots certainly don't.

Or do they?

ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss reports, "The top unit at safety was shaken up some on Monday, with second-year safety Sergio Brown seeing time with both Patrick Chung and Brandon Meriweather. The Patriots were set on Sunday to work out veteran safeties Renaldo Hill and Darren Sharper, so this could be further evidence that the team is not happy with what they are seeing at the position."

Even if they don't think of Sharper or Hill as the go-to guys to bolster the secondary, it's clear they're not 100 percent confident in what they currently have back there. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, though, as the team had 49ers safety Dashon Goldson in for a physical last week before he signed back with his old team. 

After the humbling experience in Monday's practice, Meriweather and Chung should be feeling the heat with two more big names set to work out today.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz.