Rob Petitti
Encyclopedia
Rob Christopher Petitti (born May 21, 1982) is an American football
offensive tackle who is currently a free agent
. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys
in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Pittsburgh
.
Petitti has also played for the New Orleans Saints
, St. Louis Rams
, Florida Tuskers and Carolina Panthers
.
, where he was twice named to All-New Jersey Group I team. He was also a two-time All-Division, All-Shore, All-County selection. He was a three-year starter as an offensive and defensive lineman. He recorded 90 tackles during his final two prep seasons. He now coaches the offensive line at his old high school while he is recovering from his injury. He is also coaching lacrosse.
.
In 2003
, Petitti, earned First-team All-Big East Conference, First-team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference
honors. He was named the coaching staff's Co-Lineman of the Game for the Ball State
contest and Co-Blocker of the Game against Syracuse. He started all year at left offensive tackle. For the season he recorded 87 knockdowns with eight touchdown-resulting blocks. He also, allowed 7.5 of the team's 43 quarterback sacks.
In 2004
, Petitti earned Second-team All-American
selection by The Sporting News
and College Football News, Third-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and Associated Press
. He was a unanimous First-team All-Big East selection by the coaches. Petittie was also a three-time All-Big East pick, the first Pitt offensive lineman to since Ruben Brown
was a three-time selection from 1992
- 1994
.
by the Dallas Cowboys
.
Petitti was forced to start at right tackle as a rookie. He made his first NFL start in the season opening win at the San Diego Chargers
. By doing so, he became the first rookie since Dave Widell
in 1988 to start an opener at the right tackle position for Dallas. He was also only the second rookie to start a season opener at the position in franchise history. In 2005
, Petitti and Larry Allen
were the only two offensive players for the Cowboys to play every offensive snap that season.
Because of his significant playing time as a rookie, Pettiti earned $
271,287 in performance pay, doubling his signing bonus and minimum base salary. Petitti was released by the Cowboys on September 2, 2006.
— was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Saints
.
In 2006
, Pettiti played in one game for the Saints. He was a backup to Jon Stinchcomb
. He was waived by the Saints on August 31, 2007.
, to a two-year, $1.1 million contract, to fill the roster spot vacated the release of Claude Terrell
, after Terrell was released after he allegedly assaulted his wife in Houston. In 2007
, Petitti played in five games for the Rams, with one start. He also recovered one fumble.
On July 23, 2008, Petitti was waived/injured by the Rams after tearing his Achilles tendon
in the offseason. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve
two days later.
in 2009. He signed with the team on August 25, 2009.
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
offensive tackle who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft
2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
.
Petitti has also played for the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
, St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, Florida Tuskers and Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
.
Early years
Petitti played high school football at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High SchoolRumson-Fair Haven Regional High School
The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School is a regional, four-year comprehensive public high school and school district, serving students in grades 9 through 12 from the suburban Monmouth County, New Jersey, communities of Fair Haven and Rumson...
, where he was twice named to All-New Jersey Group I team. He was also a two-time All-Division, All-Shore, All-County selection. He was a three-year starter as an offensive and defensive lineman. He recorded 90 tackles during his final two prep seasons. He now coaches the offensive line at his old high school while he is recovering from his injury. He is also coaching lacrosse.
College career
Petitti attended PittUniversity of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
.
In 2003
2003 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in a split national championship. This was the first split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to eliminate....
, Petitti, earned First-team All-Big East Conference, First-team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
honors. He was named the coaching staff's Co-Lineman of the Game for the Ball State
Ball State Cardinals football
The Ball State Cardinals football team represents Ball State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Mid-American Conference .-Recent history:...
contest and Co-Blocker of the Game against Syracuse. He started all year at left offensive tackle. For the season he recorded 87 knockdowns with eight touchdown-resulting blocks. He also, allowed 7.5 of the team's 43 quarterback sacks.
In 2004
2004 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with several undefeated teams vying for a spot in the national title game, triggering controversy. In the 2003 season, no team finished the regular season unbeaten, and five teams finished the season with one loss...
, Petitti earned Second-team All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
selection by The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
and College Football News, Third-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. He was a unanimous First-team All-Big East selection by the coaches. Petittie was also a three-time All-Big East pick, the first Pitt offensive lineman to since Ruben Brown
Ruben Brown
Ruben Parnell Brown is a former American football guard of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 14th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh....
was a three-time selection from 1992
1992 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Coalition, and ended with Alabama's first national championship in thirteen years—their first since the departure of Bear Bryant...
- 1994
1994 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season saw yet another controversial finish as both Nebraska and Penn State finished undefeated, and yet Penn State finished a distant second in the final AP and UPI polls. The controversial finish, however, could have been an even worse morass if not for some...
.
Dallas Cowboys
Petitti was selected in the sixth round (209 overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...
by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
.
Petitti was forced to start at right tackle as a rookie. He made his first NFL start in the season opening win at the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. By doing so, he became the first rookie since Dave Widell
Dave Widell
David Harold Widell, Jr. is a former American football guard and tackle who played 11 seasons in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Atlanta Falcons. He was a part of the Atlanta Falcons' Super Bowl XXXIII losing team...
in 1988 to start an opener at the right tackle position for Dallas. He was also only the second rookie to start a season opener at the position in franchise history. In 2005
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, Petitti and Larry Allen
Larry Allen
Larry Christopher Allen, Sr. is a former American football guard of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft...
were the only two offensive players for the Cowboys to play every offensive snap that season.
Because of his significant playing time as a rookie, Pettiti earned $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
271,287 in performance pay, doubling his signing bonus and minimum base salary. Petitti was released by the Cowboys on September 2, 2006.
New Orleans Saints
On September 4, 2006, Petitti — along with Cowboys teammate Terrance CopperTerrance Copper
Terrance Terrel Copper is an American football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent...
— was claimed off waivers by the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
.
In 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, Pettiti played in one game for the Saints. He was a backup to Jon Stinchcomb
Jon Stinchcomb
Jon Stinchcomb is a former American football offensive tackle who played eight seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints...
. He was waived by the Saints on August 31, 2007.
St. Louis Rams
On October 24, 2007 he was signed by the St. Louis RamsSt. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, to a two-year, $1.1 million contract, to fill the roster spot vacated the release of Claude Terrell
Claude Terrell
Claude Terrell is an American football player who currently is a free agent. On October 23, 2007 the Rams released him. Terrell was released by the Rams after being arrested for assaulting his wife. Terrell was already on probation after a previous arrest for assault on a family member...
, after Terrell was released after he allegedly assaulted his wife in Houston. In 2007
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
, Petitti played in five games for the Rams, with one start. He also recovered one fumble.
On July 23, 2008, Petitti was waived/injured by the Rams after tearing his Achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
in the offseason. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
two days later.
Florida Tuskers
Petitti was drafted by the Florida Tuskers in the UFL Premiere Season DraftUFL Premiere Season Draft
The UFL "Premiere" Season Draft was the inaugural draft of the United Football League. The results of the draft were announced via press release on June 19, 2009....
in 2009. He signed with the team on August 25, 2009.
Carolina Panthers
Petitti was signed by the Panthers on December 15 to replace injured Jeff OtahJeff Otah
Jeffrey C. Otah is a Nigerian American football offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Panthers 19th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh....
.