He had a career season to use as a bargaining chip, which he obviously is doing. This benefits both CJ and Veach.
What's the worst that can happen? He's got to play this year because if he misses a full season, he won't get the top tier salary he wants.
We could get 3 top 100 picks for him, a la Reek... then use them to trade up for the DT we want. I mean, Veach still holds some cards here, and if CJ's agent is worth his salt, he knows this.