Tim Benz: If Ben Roethlisberger splits from the Steelers, where might he play if he doesn't retire?

Feb. 19—If the Pittsburgh Steelers eventually decide to release Ben Roethlisberger, the question remains if he would want to continue his career in a new city or retire.

Should such a scenario develop, the most likely destination appeared to be the Indianapolis Colts. But then the Colts decided to make a trade for former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz on Thursday.

So, where else?

Since there appears to be no other clear-cut candidate, Pro Football Talk apparently decided to list ... almost everybody.

"The only potentially viable options, now that the Colts are spoken for, would seem to be these: Jets, Patriots, Texans (if they trade Deshaun Watson), Broncos, Raiders (if they trade Derek Carr, which seems highly unlikely), Cowboys (if they let Dak Prescott walk), Washington, Bears, Panthers, Saints, 49ers, and Seahawks (if they trade Russell Wilson, which seems highly unlikely). That's the broadest universe of arguably realistic possibilities."

OK. Let's comb through that list a bit. And, of course, we have to acknowledge that if Carr, Wilson, Prescott and Watson are all moved, then four other teams will be soaked up as options. But who knows how the dominoes will fall?

If Roethlisberger wants to continue playing, I can't see why he'd start over in such tough circumstances as he would find in New York, Carolina, Houston and Denver.

I also don't envision Roethlisberger wanting to work in Kyle Shanahan's San Francisco offense. Bill Belichick has always gushed about Roethlisberger. But I don't know how Ben would handle such a heavy coaching hand in New England or following up the Tom Brady legacy.

And would the Saints want to bring Roethlisberger into the mix with Taysom Hill and (maybe) Jameis Winston? Would Big Ben want that kind of competition? I'll say no to both.

Las Vegas is a fringe playoff contender. Dallas has offensive weapons. Washington has a few, too. Plus a good defense. If Roethlisberger can stomach playing for Jon Gruden, Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder, perhaps those organizations would be intriguing.

Given what the Bears need at quarterback (22nd-ranked pass offense in 2020), Chicago may be the most logical landing spot if a more preferred destination doesn't present itself. The team was apparently interested in both Wentz and former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. But Stafford was shipped to the Los Angeles Rams instead. Here's what Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune wrote Thursday.

"The Bears are in a desperate situation and any team looking to trade a quarterback is going to insert them in conversations. That's an unavoidable quandary the Bears find themselves in.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy have the huge task of igniting a struggling offense and two possibilities have been removed from the board. The next move for Pace and Nagy, who already sit on the hot seat, isn't clear.

It would be surprising if the Bears considered re-signing Mitch Trubisky or heading into the season with Nick Foles, the only quarterback currently under contract, as the starter. It's possible given Pace's track record for aggressive moves that he will swing big."

But if Roethlisberger truly had his pick of that lot, I'd imagine his choice would be Seattle because of the receiving targets he'd have (D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett) and the chance to play for a Super Bowl-winning coach in Pete Carroll.

No. I don't see it happening either. But that would be the best-case scenario of those choices presented for Roethlisberger. Maybe replacing Russ with Big Ben is what it would take for Seahawks fans to finally stop complaining about him scoring at the goal line in Super Bowl XL.

Within the framework of some of those long-shot choices advanced by PFT, the Seahawks would make the most sense for Big Ben. But I'd think Chicago is the most realistic prospect. And the Bears are a distant third place behind staying in Pittsburgh, or retirement.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.