Cornerback Bryant McFadden (www.bryantmcfadden25.com) is going back to where he started.

McFadden, 28, a second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005 who left the team to sign with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent in 2009, is headed back to Pittsburgh.

The Steelers reacquired McFadden, plus a sixth-round draft pick in the 2010 draft, in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Arizona used the pick to select quarterback John Skelton out of Fordham.

McFadden started for the Steelers when they won the Super Bowl in 2008, then signed with the Cardinals – the team the Steelers beat in the big game.

McFadden is the third former Steeler to return this off-season. The Steelers previously re-signed wide receiver Antwaan Randle El and inside linebacker Larry Foote.

In his one season in Arizona, McFadden did not have an interception but was credited with 64 tackles. For his career he has intercepted seven passes, including one from 49ers quarterback Alex Smith that he returned for a 50-yard touchdown in 2007.

See: www.bryantmcfadden.com, www.redbirdcrew.com, www.steelcurtaintimes.com  

Bryant McFadden brings a veteran presence and two Super Bowl rings to the desert of Arizona after four years in Pittsburgh.

It's an odd thing going from the Super Bowl winner to the Super Bowl runner-up the following season, but McFadden has a chance to play an important role in yet another explosive secondary. With McFadden alongside Antrel Rolle (www.rolle21.com), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson, the Cardinals appear to be stacked in the defensive backfield.

The Cardinals feel like they have something to prove after they were deemed by some as a “fluke” Super Bowl team last year. With most of the pieces returning from their NFC title team, however, McFadden should help the team dispel those feelings.

McFadden is coming off a season in which he picked off two passes, bagged himself a sack and racked up 41 tackles for the top-rated Pittsburgh pass defense.

For his career he has jacked seven passes from the opposition, including one from 49ers QB Alex Smith that he returned for a 50-yard touchdown in 2007.

At 27, McFadden is just entering the prime of his career and could develop into one of the best defensive backs in the NFL.

He joins former Florida State teammates Darnell Dockett and Anquan Boldin on the Cardinals' roster.