LAKE FOREST, Ill. The Bears on Thursday locked up a key member of their defense for the foreseeable future, signing Tommie Harris to a four-year contract extension.

Tommie Harris was selected by the Bears with the 14th pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

The three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle was set to enter the final season of the five-year deal he inked as a first-round draft pick in 2004. But Harris is now signed through the 2012 season.

After missing the 2006 playoffs—including Super Bowl XLI—with a hamstring injury, Harris rebounded last season to record a career-high eight sacks and become the first defensive tackle in Bears history to be voted to three straight Pro Bowls.

The Oklahoma product played in all 16 games last year despite being hampered by a knee injury for most of the season. Harris sustained the injury in a Week 3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys when he was leg-whipped by offensive tackle Marc Colombo, a former Bears teammate.

Harris burst on the scene in 2004, becoming the Bears first defensive player to start all 16 games as a rookie since safety Mike Brown in 2000. Harris earned his first Pro Bowl invitation in 2005, recording a career-high 59 tackles with three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Harris continued to excel in 2006, registering five sacks in an early three-game span before suffering a season-ending injury in a Week 13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

In keeping with a philosophy of rewarding their own players, the Bears have now signed eight veterans to new contracts this offseason with Harris joining Lance Briggs, Alex Brown, Desmond Clark, Rashied Davis, Robbie Gould, Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.

Last summer Chicago inked starting cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher to long-term deals before they reached the free agent market.