Three restricted free agents — LB DeAndre Levy, OL Corey Hilliard and DT Sammie Hill — were tendered offers today (Monday) by the Lions, according to the team web site.

Levy, a third-round pick in 2009, was given a second-round tender that will pay him $1.927 million in 2012. Any team that wises to sign him must give up a second-round pick in this year’s draft.

Hill and Hilliard received original-round tenders — sixth for Hilliard and fourth for Hill. Each is worth $1.26 million.

If a team makes an offer the Lions have a week to counter or receive the draft pick.

The cap hit for all three is about $4.45 million.

The Lions got a $1.6 million cap bonus today, along with 27 other NFL teams per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Redskins and Cowboys were punished for dumping salaries into the uncapped 2010 year. The Redskins will lose $36 million in cap space that can be split between 2012 and 2013, while the Cowboys will lose $10 million. The Saints and Raiders didn’t lose cap space money but won’t share in the rewards because they engaged in similar tactics.

The Lions restructured three contracts today — Matthew Stafford, Ndamukong Suh and Nate Burleson — to help in the salary cap crunch.

Free agency opens at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Get Lions news delivered directly to your phone by texting the keyword "Lions" to 22700. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.)