Greg Olsen has a unique talent. He can roll his eyes — verbally.

So when the Carolina Panthers tight end was asked about growing internal strife — an idea that's popped up on various media outlets after Ron Rivera benched Cam Newton at the start of Sunday's loss in Seattle — it was surprising Olsen's eyes didn't actually move toward the top of his head.

“I think the 'splitting of the locker room' thing has been a media-driven storyline," he said. "There's been zero quotes or comments that I've seen that have been anything other than supportive and positive. The idea that has been spit around that there's a divide and a faction of the locker is complete and utter nonsense.

"I think those make for fun storylines. I think that allows guys to go on radio shows and follow up and talk about it, but I think there's zero legitimacy to it."

Case in point: What happened on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" Wednesday afternoon. Peter Schrager, a respected and typically accurate national reporter, claimed to have new information on the Newton benching.

"On Saturday night before the game, Ron Rivera told him, 'If you don't wear a tie to the game, I'm going to bench you for the first series,'" Schrager said. "Cam Newton heard this, slept on it, and showed up on Sunday without a tie on."

Schrager then wondered out loud: "What does this tell you about his respect for Ron Rivera?"

The thing is, that timeline is inaccurate. Everything happened on Saturday.

Now, Newton was aware he could face something like a fine for not wearing a tie on the flight from San Jose. But it's not like he was sleepless in Seattle while having visions of rebelling against his coach.

That sounds spicier though, especially on a show whose host has been spitting some hot Newton narratives lately.

"I've been around for a long time. I understand how it works when things are bad," Olsen said. "It makes storylines more juicy. It almost makes it easier to cover. It makes it easier to write things, follow-ups. I get it. I understand how that works."

And this week, we're all getting another reminder of how much of the sports talk sausage is made these days.