Tommie Harris Tommie Harris , Jr . ( born April 29 , 1983 ) is an American football defensive tackle who last played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Oklahoma , and was recognized as an All - American twice . The Chicago Bears chose him in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft , and he has also played professionally for the San Diego Chargers . He is a three - time Pro Bowl selection , and is currently a free agent . Early years . Harris was born in Germany and raised in Killeen , Texas , he attended Ellison High School in Killeen . As a member of the Ellison Eagles , Harris became one of the nation ' s top defensive high school prospects , including being ranked as the No . 35 high school prospect in the nation by recruiting analyst Tom Lemming . During the 1998 football season , he was a back up defensive tackle in his sophomore year for the Eagles who were ranked No . 1 in the state of Texas and No . 13 in the nation . He was also a member of Ellison ' s track and field team , where he participated in the shotput . College career . While attending the University of Oklahoma , Harris played for coach Bob Stoops ' s Oklahoma Sooners football team from 2001 to 2003 . He is one of the very few players in OU history to start every game of his true freshman season . He was a two - time All - Big 12 selection , and was recognized as a consensus first - team All - American in 2002 and a unanimous first - team All - American in 2003 . In his junior and final season as a Sooner , Harris won the Lombardi Award as the nation ' s best lineman in 2003 . He was named to the " Sports Illustrated " All - Decade Team in 2009 . Harris turned down the " Playboy " All - America Team photo shoot in 2002 . When asked about it in " Sports Illustrated " , he said , " I have four sisters and no interest in promoting Hugh Hefner ' s agenda . What would I be saying by being in that magazine ? That I ' m poor and am looking for publicity ? That I like girls in swimsuits ? I don ' t even like pornography . " Professional career . Chicago Bears . The Chicago Bears selected Harris in the first round ( 14th overall pick ) of the 2004 NFL Draft , and he played for the Bears from to . In 2004 , he finished second in balloting for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award . In only his second NFL season , Harris was selected for the 2006 Pro Bowl for the first time . Harris was well suited for coach Lovie Smith ' s version of the Tampa 2 defense , which relies on quick , mobile linemen to get pressure on the quarterback . Harris enjoyed an excellent start to the , leading the league with five sacks after four games . He was instrumental in a Week 3 victory over the Vikings , disrupting a handoff in the Vikings backfield and forcing a fumble , which allowed the Bears to score the game - winning touchdown . Furthermore , Harris was awarded the NFC ' s " Player of the Week " award twice in three weeks . However , in the following weeks , Harris ' productivity declined . Additionally , Harris was forced to leave the Bears ' Week 13 match - up against the Vikings after sustaining a knee injury . Further medical review determined that Harris had severely injured his hamstring , and he missed the remainder of the 2006 season . Despite the injury , Harris was selected to play in the 2007 Pro Bowl , and appeared on the cover of the February issue of " Sports Illustrated for Kids " . Without Harris , the Bears noticed a significant decline in their pass rush and run defense . Though the Bears beat the New Orleans Saints to win the NFC Championship , the Indianapolis Colts beat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI . Harris saw limited action throughout the subsequent preseason , and only made a brief return during the final game of the preseason against the Cleveland Browns . He played in the Bears ' season opener against the San Diego Chargers and forced a fumble . He finished 2007 with eight sacks and two forced fumbles . On June 19 , 2008 , Harris signed a contract extension with the Chicago Bears for $ 40 million over four years . It also included a $ 8 . 5 million Pro Bowl bonus , which he would receive if he made it to the Pro Bowl in 2008 , 2009 , and 2010 . He could ' ve made an additional $ 2 million based on performance . It also included $ 17 million in guarantees and made Harris the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL . That salary has since been surpassed by Albert Haynesworth ' s . Harris ' role with the Bears decreased since he injured his knee during a Week 3 game of the 2007 season . The injury hampered his performance throughout portions of the 2008 season , and into the 2010 season . Nevertheless , Harris recorded eight sacks in 2007 despite starting in 13 games that season . On November 8 , 2009 , Harris was ejected just 65 seconds into the first quarter in a game against the Arizona Cardinals for punching guard Deuce Lutui in the face . He later apologized for the incident . In 2010 , Harris was benched after the second week of the season . Head coach Lovie Smith stated , " We have 45 guys that you can go with ; we have everybody healthy right now . Just felt like we wanted to get a look at Marcus Harrison , him and Henry Melton inside , a little bit . Just performance based . Tommie ' s been doing everything we ' ve asked him to do . " The same week , former defensive tackle Warren Sapp criticized Harris , comparing him to " blind dog in a meat house . " Harris later returned the Bears the next week , but lost his starting position . He recorded his first and only sack of the season in week 17 against the Green Bay Packers . On February 28 , 2011 , Harris , along with linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer , was released by the Bears . During his seven seasons with the Bears , Harris played in 104 games , recording 213 tackles and 28 . 5 sacks . Indianapolis Colts . On August 2 , 2011 , Harris signed a one - year contract with the Indianapolis Colts , but was released on September 3 . San Diego Chargers . Harris signed with the San Diego Chargers on September 28 , 2011 . In 2012 , Harris ' wife Ashley died of either a stroke or brain aneurysm . NFL stats . < ref name = http : / / espn . go . com / nfl / player / stats / _ / id / 5539 / tommie - harris > < / ref >