After quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a serious toe injury that left him needing surgery in Week 2, the Cincinnati Bengals lost three consecutive games before they acquired veteran Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 7.

Flacco has since tossed five touchdown passes over his last six quarters of play with Cincinnati, giving the club hope that he will be able to keep it in the playoff hunt.

That said, some understandably wondered before the Flacco trade if current Carolina Panthers backup Andy Dalton had any interest in returning to Cincinnati, his NFL home from 2011 through the 2019 season. For a piece published Thursday, Dalton spoke with ESPN's David Newton about a reunion that never materialized.

Did Andy Dalton explore being traded from Panthers to Bengal

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