The New England Patriots seem to operate at a different frequency than the rest of the NFL, keeping their biggest plans secret and making their biggest moves bold. They stunned the league again Monday night, shipping coveted backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2018 second-round pick.

Now, the NFL must wait to see what else Bill Belichick and the Patriots have in store before the trade deadline arrives at 4 p.m. Tuesday, because trading Garoppolo is only the start of New England’s plans. The second-round pick adds to an already hefty draft capital in 2018, and the Patriots have incentive to turn those future picks into present assets. They made a league-shaking move Monday night, but it may only be setting up another one Tuesday.

The Patriots entered the season as a runaway Super Bowl favorite, a juggernaut supposedly without weakness. Injuries and underperformance have created clear needs at wide receiver, pass rusher and cornerback. They now need a backup quarterback, too, now that Tom Brady is the only quarterback on their roster.

The backup quarterback part will be easy – the 49ers released former Patriots backup Brian Hoyer as a ripple effect from the blockbuster, and New England figures to scoop him up. But that second-round pick may not remain in New England’s possession for long, instead used as capital for another trade.

Trading Garoppolo now, for the Patriots, makes the most sense as part of a larger plan. If they wanted to maximize value, they could have dealt him last offseason. If they wanted to hoard assets, they could have kept him and used the franchise tag on him. But if they recognized they have a Super Bowl team with holes in need of patching, then dealing a sought-after backup quarterback and eventually turning him into a needed piece adds up.

For the Patriots, both needs and options abound. They have been lacking at wide receiver all year after a season-ending injury to Julian Edelman. New England traded third-stringer Jacoby Brissett to the Colts for Phillip Dorsett, but Dorsett has yet to make an impact. The Patriots’ receiving corps may have been further thinned Monday, when Chris Hogan left Gillette Stadium with his arm in a sling.

The Patriots could turn in several directions for a wide receiver. If the Dolphins can stomach sending their divisional tormentors a star, Jarvis Landry could be had. Landry will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and Miami’s season veered toward the ditch last Thursday in a 40-0 loss at Baltimore. Landry’s toughness, competitiveness and ability to run precise inside routes make him a receiver Belichick would love.

An even bigger name the Patriots could chase: Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals’ season was going nowhere even before Carson Palmer broke his arm. Fitzgerald’s credentials are impeccable, but beyond his Hall of Fame career, he is the kind of versatile, cerebral wide receiver Belichick prizes. It may be difficult to see the Cardinals willingly let Fitzgerald, the best player in their franchise’s history, play out the end of what could be his final season in a different uniform. But they could also see it as a parting gift, a chance to let Fitzgerald chase his first Super Bowl.

While the Patriots could use a wide receiver, their most pressing holes to fill, especially if the Patriots have an optimistic view on Hogan, are on defense. They learned last week they had lost bedrock linebacker Dont’a Hightower for the season, and their pass defense has been atrocious. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, whom the Patriots signed to a megabucks free agent deal this offseason, missed his third straight game Sunday, and when healthy he’s been mostly disastrous, slow to pick up on New England’s schemes and communication.

If the Patriots want to bolster their defensive backfield, they may consider the Colts’ Vontae Davis, whom Belichick knows well from his years with Miami. Perhaps the Broncos, clearly out of it this season after Monday night’s loss in Kansas City, could be talked into considering former Patriot Aqib Talib, who was excellent for the season-plus he spent in New England, even though he has two more years on his contract after this season.

Whatever direction the Patriots move, they will have adequate assets to swing a deal. The Patriots will send either a third- or fourth-round draft pick to the Eagles, depending on how much Eric Rowe plays this season. But with compensatory picks and trades, the Patriots now have nine draft picks in next April’s draft, including two second-round picks. They also may include cornerback Malcolm Butler, who wants a new contract and could be this year’s version of Jamie Collins.

The trade opened up possibilities for both the Patriots and 49ers, for whom the trade could become a particular boon. If they finish with a top-three pick, they should have a chance to recoup that second-rounder by trading down, which they’ll almost certainly have an opportunity to do, since the quarterbacks at the top are so coveted.

But those considerations are far in the future. In the present, the Patriots are a Super Bowl contender with immediate needs and additional ammunition to solve them. We can only wait to see what happens next.