Let me state right at the start, I have no solid eveidence that Petitti might be a candidate for a trade. So what I'm writing here is pure speculation. Given that disclaimer, the idea doesnt sound too far-fetched to me. Here's my reasoning.
The Cowboys have 5 offensive tackles and 4 of them are pretty much in the same boat. Besides Flozell Adams, the other 4 seemed to be around the same level right now. I'm pretty sure the Cowboys don't want to carry 5 tackles on the roster even though Parcells did say it's a possibility. That would limit the flexibility of the rest of the roster, and we still don't know if we'll have to carry a kickoff specialist.
So why am I offering Petitti up as trade bait? Because after listening to Parcells discuss things today in his press conference and trying to read between the lines, Petitti makes the most sense to me. We know Flozell will start at LT. We are pretty sure that Marc Colombo will start at RT, if it's not him then it will be Jason Fabini. Yesterday Parcells seemed to take Petitti out of the running by saying he is being groomed as a swing-tackle, which sounds like he's not being considered at the RT starter's spot, even though Parcells wouldn't confirm that. Also, given that Colombo and Fabini have been switching off at RT the last two preseason games, this makes sense.
Today, Parcells gushed over Pat McQuistan and yesterday he said McQ will be on the roster. So the way it looks right now, Flozell is the LT and McQ is his backup. Colombo or Fabini is the RT with the other being the backup. Petitti is the swing-tackle.
But today's press conference contained some interesting nuggets. First, Parcells said specifically that other teams have called about trading for some of the offensive line players. He also said they are working on their contingency plans at that position. You can rule Flozell out of the trade equation, and it sounds like you can rule McQ out, too, as Parcells obviously has very high hopes for the kid. I think you can rule out Fabini, only because he is an aging veteran and I'm not sure if other teams would be willing to give up something that would return equal value. Especially because he's coming off an injury and Parcells probably places a higher value on him than any other coach in the league. So that leaves Colombo and Petitti among the tackles.
Colombo looks to be heading for the starting lineup, so I wouldn't put much stock in the Cowboys trading him. In addition, Parcells has been saying some very complimentary things about him lately. That leaves Petitti, who is young, has already had the experience of playing a full 16-game schedule, both very desirable traits. He probably represents the best trade value of the tackles that the Cowboys might part with. Notably, Parcells said that Petitti, Colombo and Fabini have all played both tackle spots before, meaning that Petitti isn't the only swing-tackle available on the team. Also of note, whenever asked about Petitti over the last couple of weeks, Parcells says he's doing OK, but he never gushes about him the way he has with McQ, and to a lesser extent Colombo.
So I'm cooking up a scenario that looks like this. Flozell starts at LT, Colombo starts at RT. Fabini represents the swing-tackle on game day and McQ stays on the 53-man roster but is inactive on game day. With that, you have the opportunity to trade Petitti and probably get good return value, and still cover your bases at the tackle position.
What do you guys think? Does it sound possible or likely? Or am I really stretching here and reading things into Parcells' comments that aren't really there?