Odell Beckham Jr. had a special moment with his son, Zydn, before the Giants faced the Minnesota Vikings in their preseason opener on Saturday, Aug. 15.
In a video shared by the NFL, the wide receiver was captured picking up his 4-year-old and pulling him in for a hug before setting him back down. The two then exchanged a playful handshake and fist bump.
Beckham began his NFL career with the Giants in 2014 and remained with the team until 2018. After leaving New York, he played for several teams and won Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams in February 2022. Four days after the victory, he and his then-girlfriend, Lauren Wood, welcomed Zydn.
Beckham most recently played for the Miami Dolphins in 2024 before being waived. He sat out the 2025 NFL season and has now returned to the Giants for his second stint with the franchise.
While Beckham and Wood are no longer together, the two continue to co-parent their son. Wood spoke about their relationship in 2024, telling PEOPLE that their bond had become “stronger” in some ways since their split.
Beckham has also opened up about the role fatherhood plays in the decisions he makes about his future. In a February 2025 interview with PEOPLE, he shared some of the questions he had been considering.
“Where do I want to live? Where can my son lay his head? How do I establish a future for him?” Beckham said.
He also shared what he hopes to teach Zydn as he grows up.
“For me, I just hope he learns love,” Beckham said. “I feel like this world is so full of hate and comparisons and jealousy and all these other things. I hope that I can instill in him everything that my father instilled in me.”
Beckham said those lessons are especially important because he knows he will not always be there to guide his son through every situation.
“I’m not going to be able to be there with him through every encounter. So just being able to instill the right tools in him to be a good man, respectful, morally sound, and he’ll be okay.”
