NEW ORLEANS — For the football minds on Radio Row this week, it’s one of the NFL’s worst-kept secrets: The Patriots are in dire need of receiver help.

What’s less certain is how the team under Mike Vrabel’s leadership goes about addressing that spot.

Do they unload bags of cash on Tee Higgins’ doorstep in free agency? Or is there another, more cost-effective avenue for them to pursue?

Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, who tuned up the Patriots for 106 yards and two touchdowns back in November, announced on Monday that the Rams plan to trade him. Could he be a security blanket for Drake Maye in Year 2?

Bourne tries to recruit Rams star WR Cooper Kupp on social media

One would think the Rams would do what they can to help Kupp find a preferred landing spot after he helped them win a Super Bowl three years ago. Thus enticing him to want to land in New England could be hurdle No. 1 for the Patriots.

Here are the reasons why acquiring Kupp would make sense for Vrabel, though.

The Patriots are in dire need of professional receiver help.

The kind of help that wouldn’t only make a young quarterback more comfortable in gotta-have-it situations, but would also help raise the overall level of professionalism of the others in the receiver room in Foxboro.

“[He’s] not a long term play, right?” said Steve Palazzolo of the 33rd Team. “This is why Adam Thielen has been a good late-career slot receiver. You know he’s going to get open, smart guy… I could see Cooper Kupp being maybe that guy. So maybe that’s like a nice little transition type of player while you’re building the lines.

“Give Drake Maye some confidence and a go-to guy. Maybe it’s redundant to (DeMario) Pop Douglas a little bit, but that’s the type of player maybe I’d look at being a little bit cheaper while you’re building everything else. If you don’t go with that, the home-run swing of Tee Higgins.”

Kupp is on the books for $12.5 million in base salary in 2025, and he’s due a roster bonus of $7.5 million in March. That’s a significant chunk of change for a 31-year-old who finished last season banged-up. The Rams may end up eating a portion of the money owed to him since now it’s out in the open that Kupp will be dealt, sapping Los Angeles of some of its leverage in any trade talks.

Regardless, the Patriots lead the league in available cap space this offseason, meaning they’re as capable of absorbing whatever Kupp will cost as anyone. And in Josh McDaniels’ offense, which revolutionized the slot receiver position through the 2000s and 2010s, he would have a clearly-defined role and a quarterback unafraid to find him in the middle of the field.

“We’re not talking 2020 or 2021, one of the best receiver seasons of all time,” Palazzolo said when asked about Kupp’s physical skill set at this point in his career. “But if you’re telling me he’s going to be in the right place at the right time, he’s going to be open up to 15 yards, I feel like he could be a nice addition for Drake Maye here.”

Former Patriots and Falcons executive Thomas Dimitroff said that surrounding Maye with weapons is the right approach. But he’d be open to a younger, more expensive option for New England this offseason.

“[Higgins] is the guy that could help turn it around, for sure,” Dimitroff said. “I am a big believer in always putting the tools around your quarterback. We did it with Michael Turner way back in the day. We did it with Tony Gonzalez. We did it with Julio Jones. We were always mindful of what we put around Matt Ryan in those formative years.

“I think it’s vital you do that. But to spend the money on Tee, is he worth it? He’s the best. I love what he does, but I don’t know if it’s worth doing that with your organization. I think there’s other areas that you can put your money into. You can go in the draft, have a nice solid pick in the draft. I do believe that as well…

“I will be interested to see who does pull the trigger on Tee Higgins because he could turn an organization around. I do believe that.”

If Higgins doesn’t land with the Patriots, they could have another option — dependable when healthy, a little older, a little less expensive — in Kupp. It just might take some convincing to get him to New England.