There was an embarrassing gaffe during Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football coverage of the Rams-49ers game as a San Francisco star was misidentified.
Offensive tackle Trent Williams, who hasn’t played since November 17, was inactive for his team’s eventual loss with an ankle injury.
And Amazon’s production crew believed they had spotted the 11-time Pro Bowler on the sideline as they mistakenly panned to a different player altogether.
‘There’s Trent Williams, who’s a big part of the grit of that offensive line,’ commentator Kirk Herbstreit said after the camera panned to the player.
‘And they really miss him up front. Not only because of the talent, but because of his presence.’
Prime Video also displayed a graphic which identified the player as Williams and listed his accomplishments.
Nesta Jade Silvera (left) was wrongly identified as Trent Williams on Thursday night
The actual Williams was seen later in the night in a suite, far away from the sideline
However, the would-be Williams was actually Nesta Jade Silvera, a second-year defensive tackle currently on the team’s practice squad, as per Awful Announcing.
Aside from being black and having a beard like Williams, Silvera doesn’t look much like his teammate and is also 12 years younger.
Fans and media members were quick to point out the blunder, with FS1’s Emmanuel Acho among those to weigh in.
‘Ummmm Thursday night football, that black man is NOT Trent Williams,’ the former linebacker captioned a video of the moment on X. ‘I repeat, wrong black guy.’
Former offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, now of SiriusXM and Fox Sports, also added, ‘Trent Williams looks different’ with a laughing-crying emoji.
Ultimately, the real Williams was ultimately found by Amazon’s broadcast later in the night, as he was seen sitting far away from the sideline in a suite.
The 49ers lost 12-6 on the night and fell to 6-8 on the year as they saw their playoff hopes all but evaporate.
And they could have used Williams on the field, as they failed to score a touchdown and registered just 63 rushing yards.