Signed last month to help assuage a shortage of ambulatory wide receivers, Herman Moore retired on Wednesday, departing the New York Giants after just three weeks, in part so the club could address injuries at other positions.

Sources said that Moore, who made virtually no impact in his short stay in New York, would have been released, as the Giants struggled to fill holes on the defensive line and in the secondary. In addition to Moore's exit, the Giants released running back Sean Bennett.

New York signed a pair of free agents, defensive linemen Ross Kolodziej and cornerback Kato Serwango, to address thin corps at both spots.

Moore, 33, ended his career on a disappointing note, playing just one of a possible three games with the Giants and failing to catch a pass. The former Detroit Lions great was signed on Nov. 13 when the Giants were battling a spate of injuries at wide receiver.

"It's a retirement in the sense I have to go home,'' the 33-year-old player said. "It's not a retirement in that I'm done and I won't ever play again. It's knowing the opportunity is better served for a player like me to come in the beginning.''

"We needed to get a cornerback," Giants coach Jim Fassel said. "It's hard to bring a guy in and get him into the flow, get him in football shape. We talked about how many times I might be able to get him (Moore) active the rest of the season. He decided it's time to retire. I have a lot of respect for him. I wish I would have had him in the beginning of the season."

From the outset, however, Moore had to fight through nagging injuries and his lack of familiarity with the New York offense. Eventually the coaches simply worked on a scaled-down set of plays for him but it made virtually no difference.

He had signed a one-year contract for the minimum base salary of $750,000, prorated over the number of weeks he was on the roster.

"I didn't come here to be a butt on a seat,'' Moore said. "I came in here, hoping to try to contribute to the team. That's a process that needs to develop in time and we don't have that. It was the best thing for both.''

The leading receiver in Lions franchise history, Moore played in 146 ganes and started 122 of them. He had 670 catches for 9,174 yards, including 62 touchdowns catches.

Even after restructuring his contract this summer, to help alleviate a salary cap crunch in Detroit and improve his chances of making the roster, he was released by the Lions in July. He worked out for the Pittsburgh Steelers just before training camp but they signed veteran Terance Mathis instead.

Hoping that some team would call him once the season began, Moore did not officially file retirement papers with the league. He probably will do so now that his attempt at a comeback seems to have failed.

The Lions' first-round pick in the 1991 draft and a former University of Virginia star, Moore has played in four Pro Bowls and was one of the NFL's premier receivers until injuries began to take their toll the last few seasons.

From 1995-97, he averaged 111 catches, 1,425 yards and 10.3 touchdowns. But from 1999-2001, his production fell off dramatically, primarily because of injuries. In that period, Moore played in just 26 games, and he caught just 60 passes.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press and SportsTicker was used in this report.