ENGLEWOOD • The Payton-Paton pairing looks bound for another season.

Broncos coach Sean Payton was asked Tuesday if he expects general manager George Paton to continue in his current role, and he didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“Yeah,’’ Payton said at a season-ending news conference at the Centura Health Center. “We’ve had a really good working relationship from the beginning. All that has gone well. We communicate two, three, four times per day.”

Paton, 53, was named Denver’s general manager in January 2021, but it’s readily apparent he doesn’t wield the same power he once did. Since Payton, 60, took over as head coach in February 2022, he has been the primary driving force.

Paton has been hampered by the disastrous 2022 hiring of head coach Nathaniel Hackett and by the decision that year to send a bevy of players and draft choices to Seattle for quarterback Russell Wilson and then sign him to five-year, $245 million contract before he played his first game for Denver.

Paton on Tuesday spoke to the media for the first time since the Broncos made final roster cuts last August. Asked whether he or Payton has the final say now in roster moves, he didn’t answer directly, saying the two never have had a disagreement.

“That hasn’t come up, and it certainly does not come up with Sean,’’ Paton said. “He’s so collaborative. We would not bring in a player that Sean and I didn’t agree upon. … (A disagreement) has not really come up in my career very often, but it certainly hasn’t come up with Sean being here.”

Assuming nothing changes with Paton’s role heading into the 2024 season, he and Payton will have plenty of work to do. It will start with making a decision on who will be the starting quarterback in 2024.

Wilson started the first 15 games before being benched for the final two in favor of Jarrett Stidham. Most observers believe the Broncos will release Wilson before his $37 million contract becomes guaranteed for 2025 on March 17, although Payton and Paton insisted Tuesday he still could return.

Regardless of what happens, the Broncos, after finishing 8-9, could use their No. 12 pick in the first round on a quarterback.

“It’s important to hit on most of your picks, especially when you’re picking that high,’’ said Paton, whose Broncos don’t have a second-round pick and have six overall selections in the draft.

The Broncos now are projected to be about $18 million over the salary cap, and it would be even worse if they release Wilson. Overall, Paton isn’t expecting they will be big players at the start of the free-agent signing period in March.

“We won’t be in on the first wave of free agency like we were last year,’’ Paton said. “You can’t do that every year. We’ll be very strategic and very specific on what positions and what players we try to sign. Obviously, we have to hit on the draft.”

Through it all, the Broncos look ready to move forward in 2024 with the Payton-Paton team.

“It’s been a year now, and I thought it worked really well, especially the partnership between Sean and George,” said Broncos owner Greg Penner. “That relationship between head coach and GM is critical. I was impressed with the way they handled going from free agency to the draft (last year). … I think George can help us build a winning roster here.”