Rob Christopher Petitti (born May 21, 1982) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

Early life

Petitti attended

Rumson-Fair Haven High School The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (often abbreviated RFH) is a regional, four-year comprehensive public high school and school district, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from the suburban communities of Fair Haven an ...

, 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 practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

College career

Petitti accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, where he became a four-year starter at

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman, he started 12 games at

. As a sophomore, he started 13 games. As a junior in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, he earned first-team All-Big East and All-

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from ...

honors. He was named the coaching staff's Co-Lineman of the Game for the

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. T ...

contest and Co-Blocker of the Game against

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. For the season he recorded 87 knockdowns with eight

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

-resulting blocks and allowed 7.5 of the team's 43 quarterback sacks. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he missed the game against

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

because of a concussion, ending a streak of 42 consecutive starts. He was a second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection by ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' and ''College Football News'', third-team from ''The NFL Draft Report'' and ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

''. 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 since

Ruben Brown Ruben Parnell Brown (born February 13, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He was selected by the ...

was a three-time selection from

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. He finished his college career after playing and starting in 49 games, missing just a single contest due to injury.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Petitti was selected by the

in the sixth round (209 overall) of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

, after dropping because of an injury-plagued senior season. He won the starting

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

job over

Jacob Rogers Jacob Dwight Rogers (born August 17, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans. Early life ...

and Torrin Tucker. He made his first

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

start at

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 after Dave Widell in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, to start an opener at

in franchise history. That year, he and

Larry Allen Larry Christopher Allen Jr. (November 27, 1971 – June 2, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football ...

were the only two offensive players for the Cowboys to play every offensive snap, although he struggled in the last month of the 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. In 2006, the signing of

Jason Fabini Jason Tamer Fabini (born August 25, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college footb ...

, combined with the play of

Marc Colombo Marc Edward Colombo (born October 8, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Battleha ...

and rookie

Pat McQuistan Patrick Shawn McQuistan (born April 30, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Arizona Cardinals. He played college foo ...

, made him expendable and led to his release on September 2, 2006.

New Orleans Saints

On September 4, 2006, Petitti — along with Cowboys teammate Terrance Copper — was claimed off waivers by the

, reuniting him with new head coach and former Cowboys offensive coordinator

Sean Payton Patrick Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Ne ...

. He was a backup behind Jon Stinchcomb and was declared inactive until the season finale against the

. He was declared inactive in both playoff contests. He was waived on August 31, 2007.

St. Louis Rams

On October 24, 2007, he was signed by the

to a two-year, $1.1 million contract, to fill the roster spot vacated the release of

Claude Terrell Claude Edward Terrell (born April 20, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard for the St. Louis Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos. Terrell ...

, after he was released for allegedly assaulted his wife. 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 his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during the offseason conditioning program.

Florida Tuskers

Petitti was selected by the

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the UFL Premiere Season Draft. He signed with the team on August 25, 2009.

Carolina Panthers

On December 15, 2009, he was signed by the

to replace an injured Jeff Otah. 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. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petitti, Rob 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Rumson, New Jersey Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School alumni Players of American football from Monmouth County, New Jersey American football offensive tackles Pittsburgh Panthers football players Dallas Cowboys players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Rams players Florida Tuskers players Carolina Panthers players American people of Italian descent