ALGONQUIN – As Brandon Marshall gingerly walked into the Thirsty Whale Bar and Grill in Algonquin on Monday night, a welcoming applause was given to the nine-year veteran wide receiver as he made his first public appearance, on the Waddle and Silvy Radio show, since having season-ending surgery.

Marshall was injured in the second quarter of the Bears' 41-28 loss on Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys. After being sent via ambulance to the hospital, it was revealed that he had suffered two broken ribs and a punctured lung. On Monday, the Bears announced he was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve.

As much as he discussed his injury and recovery, one thing Marshall said Monday afternoon stood out to most of the viewers. The topic of the rumors that many people within the Bears organization have had "buyer's remorse" about their long-term deal with quarterback Jay Cutler.

"I'd have buyer's remorse too," Marshall said. "It's the reason why these guys get paid the big bucks. When everything is good, they get all the credit. Right now, things aren't going well and a lot of that comes with the territory of being a quarterback. We all believe we can get it done with Jay, but when you play a position like that and are a player like he is, you have to expect things like that are going to come out when the team is struggling."

As far as the injury went, Marshall said as soon as he was hit, he knew something wasn't right.

"I'm not one to stay down on the field, even if I'm hurt," Marshall said. "My first thought was that there was definitely some internal bleeding, which fortunately was not really the case."

Marshall, who stood for a majority of the show because it was easier for him to breathe, talked about his surgery, which he had to stay awake for the entire time.

"I had only had a Gatorade to drink about 30 minutes before, so they could not put me to sleep," he explained. "I kept thinking about my wife and that really helped me get though the pain."

Marshall and his wife are expecting a child within the next few weeks and the wide receiver has thought about the pain his wife will deal with, and used that to fuel himself through his injury up until this point.

After discussing the injury and four-to-six week recovery period, the topic quickly transitioned to the performance of the team. During Marshall's last radio show, broadcast at Fire Bar in Crystal Lake, he emphasized that the team was not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. On Monday, that was not the case.

"There's really no other way to say it," Marshall said. "This year sucked. There's no way I can see myself going through another year of this. It's just flat out unacceptable."

Marshall, who put his pain level at a two, has always been a "mind over matter" type of person and believes he can do anything he puts his mind to. Although he was just released from the hospital on Sunday, and placed on season-ending injured reserve Monday, he said he has always been fascinated with the human body and will continue to push himself to do things that may not always be the best ideas.

One of those things was being on the Waddle and Silvy radio show one day after being released from the hospital.

Veteran cornerback Charles Tillman also came to the Thirsty Whale, originally to fill in for Marshall. Midway through Tillman's appearance, Waddle and Silvy alerted the several hundred people in attendance that Marshall would also be there.

Tillman was also able to shed some light on the Bears' struggles this season, as well as on his own future. He was placed on IR after tearing his triceps in the Bears' Week 2 comeback win over the 49ers.

"I've always played my career by always trying to 'be better than last year' ," Tillman said. "This is the most frustrating season of my 12-year career."

As far as his future with the Bears, Tillman said he loves the city of Chicago and has every intent on coming back next season.