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The Cleveland Browns offensive line, which has started the same five players in each of the first eight games, suffered a setback Saturday when right guard Seth McKinney was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

A six-year veteran, McKinney suffered a shoulder injury in last Sunday's overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

This marks the second straight season that McKinney, 28, will finish on the injured reserve list. He missed the entire 2006 season with the Miami Dolphins because of a disk injury to his neck. Despite that injury, the Browns signed McKinney as an unrestricted free agent this spring, and he has played well as the team revamped the offensive-line unit.

A third-round choice of the Dolphins in 2002, McKinney, a former Texas A&M standout, has appeared in 69 games in his career, 42 of them as a starter.

Cleveland could also be without starting left guard Eric Steinbach, who has been slowed by a back injury, and could be a game-time decision for the key AFC North matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steinbach, who is playing at a Pro Bowl level, said this week that he feels he can play, but he missed significant practice time.

Signed as an unrestricted free agent this spring after four standout seasons in Cincinnati, Steinbach has teamed with rookie tackle Joe Thomas, the third overall player selected in the draft, to provide the Browns one of the best left sides in the league.

Versatile veteran Lennie Friedman replaced McKinney in last week's game, but there is a chance the Browns will instead use former starting right tackle Ryan Tucker at the right guard spot against the Steelers. Tucker has not played guard since 1998, but he practiced there during the week.

The Cleveland offensive line has been dramatically improved this season, and is a big reason for the Browns' success and their 5-3 record. The unit has allowed only 13 sacks, including just seven in the past seven games.

The Steelers, who dominated the Browns in a season-opening 34-7 victory on Sept. 9 in Cleveland, had six sacks in that game. But the Browns have changed quarterbacks since, and the quicker release of Derek Anderson and the improvement of the line have cut down on sacks.

Anderson, who replaced Charlie Frye as the starter after the first game, has been sacked just once every 33.1 "dropbacks."

Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.