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| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1982-05-21)May 21, 1982 (age 43) Clark, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 327 lb (148 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Rumson-Fair Haven (NJ) | ||||||||
| College | Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2005: 6th round, 209th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Rob Christopher Petitti (born May 21, 1982) is an American former professionalfootball player who was anoffensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,New Orleans Saints,St. Louis Rams andCarolina Panthers. He playedcollege football for thePittsburgh Panthers.
Petitti attendedRumson-Fair Haven High School, where he was a three-year starter as a two-way tackle. He was a two-time All-Division, All-Shore, All-County selection and was twice named to the All-New Jersey Group I team. He recorded 80 tackles during his final two seasons. He also practicedbasketball.
Petitti accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of Pittsburgh, where he became a four-year starter atleft tackle. As aredshirt freshman, he started 12 games atleft tackle. As a sophomore, he started 13 games.
As a junior in2003, he earned first-teamAll-Big East and All-Eastern College Athletic Conference honors. He was named the coaching staff's Co-Lineman of the Game for theBall State contest and Co-Blocker of the Game againstSyracuse. For the season he recorded 87 knockdowns with eighttouchdown-resulting blocks and allowed 7.5 of the team's 43 quarterback sacks.
In2004, he missed the game againstTemple University because of a concussion, ending a streak of 42 consecutive starts. He was a second-teamAll-American selection byThe Sporting News andCollege Football News, third-team fromThe NFL Draft Report andAssociated Press. He was a unanimous first-team All-Big East selection by the coaches. Petitti was also a three-time All-Big East pick, becoming the first school offensive lineman to achieve this recognition sinceRuben Brown was a three-time selection from1992 to1994. He finished his college career after playing and starting in 49 games, missing just a single contest due to injury.
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft5+7⁄8 in (1.98 m) | 347 lb (157 kg) | 5.48 s | ||||||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[1] | ||||||||||||
Petitti was selected by theDallas Cowboys in thesixth round (209 overall) of the2005 NFL draft, after dropping because of an injury-plagued senior season.[2]
He won the startingright tackle job overJacob Rogers andTorrin Tucker. He made his firstNFL start atoffensive tackle in the season opener, making him the third rookie in franchise history to achieve that feat. By doing so, he became only the second rookie afterDave Widell in1988, to start an opener atoffensive tackle in franchise history. That year, he andLarry Allen were the only two offensive players for the Cowboys to play every offensive snap, although he struggled in the last month of the season.[3]
Because of his significant playing time as a rookie, Pettiti earned$271,287 in performance pay, doubling his signing bonus and minimum base salary.[4] In 2006, the signing ofJason Fabini, combined with the play ofMarc Colombo and rookiePat McQuistan, made him expendable and led to his release on September 2, 2006.[5]
On September 4, 2006, Petitti — along with Cowboys teammateTerrance Copper — was claimed off waivers by theNew Orleans Saints, reuniting him with new head coach and former Cowboys offensive coordinatorSean Payton. He was a backup behindJon Stinchcomb and was declared inactive until the season finale against theCarolina Panthers. He was declared inactive in both playoff contests. He was waived on August 31, 2007.[6]
On October 24, 2007, he was signed by theSt. Louis Rams to a two-year, $1.1 million contract, to fill the roster spot vacated the release ofClaude Terrell, after he was released for allegedly assaulted his wife.[7] He played in five games, with one start and also recovered one fumble.
On July 23, 2008, he was waived/injured by the Rams, after tearing hisAchilles tendon during the offseason conditioning program.
Petitti was selected by theFlorida Tuskers in theUFL Premiere Season Draft. He signed with the team on August 25, 2009.[8]
On December 15, 2009, he was signed by theCarolina Panthers to replace an injuredJeff Otah.[9] He appeared in 5 games as a backup. He was re-signed on March 15, 2010, released on September 4 and signed once more on December 1.[10] He wasn't re-signed after the season.[11]