By Nick Wagoner

Senior Writer

MEQUON, Wis. – One game into the preseason, the Rams have already lost one player for the season.

Rookie cornerback Justin King suffered a torn ligament in his left big toe in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Titans. The injury will require surgery and will cost King his rookie season.

“(He) will have surgery and be put on I.R.,” coach Scott Linehan said. “He is out for the year.”

The toe injury sounds similar to the one suffered by defensive end Leonard Little last season but Linehan said the injury was more underneath the toe than along the outside of it.

King’s injury is particularly disappointing to the coaching staff that thought he was having a solid camp.

The fourth-round pick out of Penn State proved to be more polished than originally thought and was pushing for playing time, especially with Fakhir Brown out with a shoulder injury.

King worked as the team’s third cornerback against the Titans and suffered the injury in the first quarter.

“He was playing good and playing good in the game,” Linehan said. “He had made progress until he had the injury. It’s a weird kind of deal. I feel bad for him because he worked really hard and was really going to push for a lot of playing time.”

Linehan was unsure of when the injury occurred but thought King had been stepped on or landed on the toe in a strange way. King continued to play but left the game after getting tangled up with Tennessee receiver Justin Gage on a pass deep down the left sideline.

“He said it was just a fluke deal and said he got it trapped under a guy’s foot or stepped funny and rolled over it,” Linehan said.

The loss of King is just the latest addition to a slew of injuries that have hit the secondary in this preseason. Brown is still nursing a shoulder injury, free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe has been battling a hamstring injury and Tye Hill missed some time earlier in camp with a tight quad.

In addition, safety Jerome Carter suffered a strained groin against the Titans and is expected to miss some time. That leaves the Rams with Hill, Ron Bartell, Jonathan Wade and David Macklin as the top four corners. At safety, Todd Johnson, Eric Bassey and Corey Chavous are all that remain.

Linehan indicated the Rams will scour available defensive backs to find a replacement so the team will at least have enough defensive backs to practice.

“We are obviously light at corner and light at safety now with Jerome for practice purposes,” Linehan said. “We will certainly keep our eyes open for secondary help.”